Don't Judge a Book by its Cover
by P.Peachy
Summary: Are firstimpressions always correct? Sasuke and Narutos first meeting is not a very pleasant one, but do they really have the other figured out as well as they think? Being forced to spend hours on end with eachother might just prove them wrong... SasuNar
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Walking down the road toward the Konoha College, a blonde teenager by the name Uzumaki Naruto made his way to his first day of school. He was very exited, yes overjoyed, over the fact that he had been accepted to his first choice when he applied for college: the animation studies.

The Konoha College was one of the cities few colleges, but still the most prestigious one at that. He had never thought he'd actually be accepted, but the insanely (as he would put it) hard work and massive effort he put in his senior year of high school had actually paid off. Working that hard at subjects he couldn't care less about was highly out of character as his friends had pointed out for him, but that was just how much he had wanted to enter Konoha College. Most of his friends were attending that school too, and he really wanted go to the same school as they did. There was of course also the fact that he loved videogames, and the animation course was his dream, making him capable of creating the very things he loved.  
Imagining to himself how famous he would some day become for making games, he paid no heed to what was going on around him.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Sasuke was in a horrible mood. The constant squeals from the girls he passed and the endless lines after lines to get registered as a student, and then finding the damn place they were supposed to go for the orientation meeting, was all slowly tearing his patience thin, making him scowl at everything around him, wishing for this unnecessary day to end. The girls' non-stop giggling was especially annoying. Giggling. He shuddered. He couldn't stand the sound, making his stomach knot in disgust and annoyance. He supposed he should be used to it by now, seeing as he had been surrounded by swooning girls like these since he was a young boy, but it just got on his nerves more every single day that passed, making him wonder if he'd go insane.

This just was not a good day, and he just wanted to get home, so he could relax, and needless to say, he was in no mood to be bothered any further.  
Of course, fate wouldn't let him get away that easily.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto, still in his own little dream world, arrived at school, fixed his registration sheet, and went to look for where the orientation meeting was to be held, his mind still in his little fantasies, and therefore not noticing the wide five-step stairs leading down to the reception area of the main hall on his right. Before he realised what was happening, Naruto started loosing his balance, and he grabbed a hold of the closest thing to him, and then went tumbling down the stairs.  
It just so happened that the closest thing was the now most pissed off thing in the world.

"What the HELL do you think your doing!" the raven-haired boy yelled furiously at the blonde on top of him.

"Aaaah, I'm so sorry!" Naruto apologized, "I didn't mean to grab you, I just fell, and it was kinda like a reflex or somethin'! Are you OK?"  
The blonde got to his feet and reached his hand down to help the boy he had unintentionally pulled with him. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. Sasuke glared viciously at him and slapped his hand away, getting to his feet on his own.

This was too much, that goddamn twerp had just nudged him over the edge, and he felt like strangling the blonde little moron.

"You god damned idiot! Don't pull people down with you just because you're too stupid to manage walking in a straight line!" he seethed, giving the blonde a furious look.

The blonde had lost his smile by now, and frowned. "Hey, I said I was sorry! Don't yell at me, it was just an accident, you jerk!"

Sasuke breathed heavily, feeling his blood boil. "Just get out of my way, idiot, I haven't got much more patience,"

Naruto was starting to get fairly pissed himself and glared at the boy in front of him, "God, why do you have to be so mean? People make mistakes you know, why not just lighten up?"

Sasuke just shot him a cold glare and turned around, walking away from the now almost equally fuming boy. He had no interest in arguing with this stupid kid, and just wanted to get this day over with. Shaking his head in frustration he started looking for the main auditorium where the welcome speech and orientation would be held and found a seat.

Naruto was absolutely furious; he couldn't believe the nerve of that guy, being such a bastard about an accident. He scowled after the boy until he was out of sight in the mass of people wandering around, and sighed heavily, trying to calm himself down, before he went to find the cafeteria. Having the sweet tooth he did, a little chocolate would be nice right about now.  
As usual, he paid no attention to where he was going (now fuming over the rude guy he'd just met), and before he realised it, he had bumped into a short girl, with black hair reaching her shoulders.

"Oh, Na-Naruto-kun!" she said, with her soft voice, looking at the now ruffled up Naruto.

"Oh hey Hinata! Sorry, didn't mean to bump into ya," he said smiling.

"It's okay; I wasn't looking either…" she smiled back, blushing slightly. "So, where are you on your way to?"

"Just need something sweet, so I was looking for the cafeteria," Naruto said with a sigh.

Immediately understanding what that meant, being familiar with the blondes habits, Hinata asked "Is something wrong?" She knew that the blonde had a sweet tooth, and he would always want candy of some sort if something bad had happened. Along with the sigh, he was like an open book to read for the caring Hyuuga.

"Nothing big, just some jerky guy with an attitude problem," he said while letting his eyes roam in search of the cafeteria.

"Well, I don't think we have time to go to the cafeteria right now, the orientation meeting is starting is a couple of minutes, so we should probably go get some seats," Hinata said quietly.

"Oh crap, I don't know where the main auditorium is, we'll be late!" the blonde said looking at his watch with slight panic.

"I know where it is, Naruto-kun," the Hyuuga said, blushing slightly more as Naruto looked at her, smiling.

"Great!" he exclaimed, grinning widely at her, "Lead the way, Hinata!"

Turning a nice tomato colour, Hinata smiled, quickly looking away before walking side by side along the blonde.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

It had been an endless day in Sasukes opinion, as he finally walked to his car outside the school to drive home. He'd been ogled at by dozens of girls, and several more tried to ask him out or get his number. Not at all interested, Sasuke plainly ignored them, but they still got on his nerves. One even tried to kiss him, making him shove her off with such force she fell over on her butt, him, of course, not caring one bit about her bruised ego. What had bothered him the most however was the blonde moron from earlier that morning. He got irritated just thinking of it, that big grin, loud voice and stubborn attitude. He had never met anyone as annoying as him, with the exception of the fangirls of course, but that was somehow completely different…  
Sasuke shook his head, prying all frustrating thoughts about the boy out of his mind, and drove home.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Naruto came home to his apartment and plumped down on the bed. He was exhausted. Work had been so tiresome; he just had no energy left. His boss had been ordering him around so much he almost collapsed. It'd been a busy day at the bakery, many of the senior citizens among the customers had ordered cake and pastry and bread of all sorts to be delivered at their door, probably to have to celebrate their grandkids first day of school, he figured. He had spoken to a few while dropping everything off and they had all been expecting family. He could hear the pride in their voices as they would boastfully tell him of their talented grandchildren being accepted into their first choice in course and school.  
Naruto felt his stomach knot a little bit out of jealousy. Shaking his head he thought to himself, 'Well, with todays work, at least I have enough money for the books I need,'

Groaning, he sat up, and took a pamphlet he had gotten from school out of his backpack. He wanted to find something to do on his free time; he knew the school had clubs and such. He figured not only would it look good in future situations, like when looking for a job and stuff like that, but it would probably be fun too, and maybe he'd get to know some new people.

His eyes searched the pages as he quickly read the headlines of every page, trying to find something interesting. He stopped after a while, reading one of the pages with interest.

"Hey…" he said to himself, "that doesn't sound so bad…"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"What are _you_ doing here?" the blonde asked, the day after.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing…" the raven-haired boy said, looking at the blonde in disbelief.

"You're signing up for the school newspaper crew too?"

"I would think that was fairly obvious, seeing as I'm signing the list this very moment,"

Half pouting, the yellow haired boy sighed.

"Crap, I hope I don't end up teamed with you," he said, signing his own name onto the list as the other boy 'gave' it to him (more like shoved it in his face), and looked at the blonde with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Feelings mutual, idiot," he said as he walked away, leaving Naruto with a mood slightly worse than the one a few minutes ago.

'Oh well,' he thought glumly to himself, 'At least he didn't yell this time'

As he turned around to walk away from the school-papers stand in the entry hall, he was abruptly stopped by something pink blocking his view and was suddenly being shaken by it like a rag doll.

"Sa-Sakura! What's wr-wrong!" he stuttered as his head threatened to fall off from the violent movement.

"Naruto! Who was that guy you were just talking to!" she exclaimed, while Naruto tore free from her deathgrip.

"What, that jerky black-haired guy?" he replied while straightening himself, feeling the world spin a tad.

Sakura looked with rage in her eyes at a now nervous Naruto, "Don't call him a jerk, Naruto!" She spun around to look after him, as he walked in a door a good distance away. "No one that hot can be a jerk," she said, dreamily.

Naruto felt a light pain in his chest. Of course she would like him. Typical. 'Damn it, now I want to kick his ass… Stealing Sakuras affection… Well, it's not like I ever had it in the first place' he thought glumly to himself.

"Soooo, Naruto," Sakura said in a sweet voice, looking at the slightly taller blonde, "Did he tell you his name, or something about himself?"

Naruto just looked at her for a moment, and then said "No, we didn't talk much. The bastard's a total ice-princess, just yelling and acting all 'holier than thou',"

This somewhat broke Sakuras pretty smile, turning it slightly bitter and annoyed.

"Shut up, Naruto!" she snapped, and ran over to where the signatures for the school-paper were and read the name above Narutos. Smiling to herself at her cleverness, she turned to him, exclaiming, "The man of my dreams is named Uchiha Sasuke! I have to go tell Ino! Bye Naruto, see ya later!"

She ran off, looking all giddy, leaving a very depressed and slightly angry blonde staring after her, with a saddened expression on his face.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Having just left the bathroom, Sasuke walked back down the hall, only to hear a girl in front of him, not fifteen meters away, squeal that the man of her dream was named Uchiha Sasuke; the raven-haired boy found himself looking at the blonde next to her. The boy was just standing there as she ran off, and looked miserable.  
Right after, he was jumped from behind by a guy with red stripes beneath his eyes looking absolutely wild and two other boys came too, one tall with a ponytail and one chubby.

To Sasukes surprise the blonde completely changed the instant he saw them, being cheerful and annoying as usual.

'Hmpf,' he thought to himself, 'What an idiot, as shallow as a puddle. Can't be much brainpower in that head if that's all it takes to make him forget.' With a smirk he started walking past them.  
As he passed by, he could hear a fraction of speech.

"Hey, what happened to you? You don't seem as perky as usual," the wild looking boy said.

"Uh.. I don't know what you're talkin' about Kiba, I'm fine! Let's just go to the cafeteria, I want some sweets!"

Sasuke glanced over at the blonde from the corner of his eye just as he passed by him a few meters away. The idiot was grinning like a madman, and Sasuke heard his friend reply "Sure, but quit being so down, it's freaking me out when you act like this!"

The blonde just replied with a small laugh and Sasuke wondered if maybe he had been wrong about the blonde. As he turned to sneak a last discreet look at him, he saw him jumping toward the cafeteria, squealing "Chocolates, chocolates!" with his friends behind him shaking their heads.

'But then again,' he thought, almost a little disappointedly, 'I might just have been right the first time,'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A week and a half into the semester, both Naruto and Sasuke had business at the message boards.  
What they found there left them both cursing the gods of fate.

'Damn it,' Naruto thought, 'why did I have to end up with him? And they made the research groups in pairs none the less, which means I'm teamed with him and _only_ him,' He scowled over at the young Uchiha, who was looking at the boards with a tired expression on his face.  
'Damn girl-thief,'

Sasuke just felt tired. He ended up with the yellow ball of energy? He had seen him at school the last week, and he always talked or moved around of fiddled with something. This was going to be very tiresome.  
He looked over at the blonde who just stood there, hanging his head and looking like a sulking kid. He sighed, annoyed over his bad luck, and started walking to his next class.

"Hey!" the blonde yelled after him, "Wait, where do you think you're going?" He ran up to Sasuke, looking at him with a slightly annoyed expression in his bright blue eyes.

Sasuke stopped in his walk, and looked directly into the blondes eyes.

"Fine," he said, sounding annoyed, "What do you want?"

The blonde stared at him, intensely for a moment, sighed, and then, to the Uchihas surprise, reached out his right hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he said firmly.

Sasuke just stared at him for a second in slight shock, before reaching out his own hand.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said and grabbed the blondes hand. They shook for a brief moment, and Naruto grinned at the slightly taller boy in front of him.

While keeping it concealed of course, Sasuke was very confused. Didn't the blonde hate his guts? He knew the boy must have had a crush on that pink-haired girl, and he had heard her saying she liked Sasuke, to Narutos face. Usually guys would loathe him in a situation like this.

Why was he being all nice and smiling?

"What?" the blonde suddenly asked, shaking Sasuke out of his thoughts. He looked up at him, with a curious look.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied quickly.

The smaller boy kept looking at him, as if trying to read his thoughts.

"I bet I know why you look so sceptical," he said, turning around, almost doing a slow pirouette. He was wearing that huge grin he always had on, and had a sly look in his eyes.

Sasuke was again rather surprised by his behaviour, which now almost seemed playful. 'He's acting like a kid,' he thought. He kept it well concealed however, and just smirked lightly at the blonde and replied a smooth and slightly arrogant "Oh, you do, do you?"

"Mhm," he said, "It's because you know about Sakura, right?"

This time Sasuke couldn't conceal his surprise at the blondes insight, but quickly pulled himself together.

"Yeah, I figured," Naruto said, looking down a moment before meeting the Uchihas eyes again.  
"But even if it did bother me a little bit, it's she who likes you, and I can't blame you for that right?"

His eyes (which Sasuke unwillingly noticed were a rather nice pair of eyes) and face were completely serious, and Sasuke believed him. He actually wasn't angry at him. He couldn't remember that ever happening before. But there the twerp was, seeing the logic in the situation, as Sasuke himself had always seen. He had never wanted those girls to swoon over him, after all.

Naruto smiled again, the big grin popping up yet again. "So!" he started, "I guess it's okay to work with you, if you don't mind of course,"

Sasuke stared at him a while longer, just taking it all in. He had been totally wrong about the idiotic little blonde, hadn't he? There actually was something floating around in that brain of his. More than what he was usually met with, in fact.

"Sure," he said, "We were signed together after all,"

"Yup," Naruto replied, smiling. "You were kinda mean already though, before the Sakura thing, but I'll let it slip as you having a bad day. But be nice to me from now on! I don't like being yelled at!" he whined.

Smirking, the Uchiha said, "Well, smarten up, and I won't have to,"

"Ha ha," he replied sarcastically.

Walking with the blonde, Naruto rambling on about what they should do when they got an assignments, Sasuke thought to himself, 'I guess cutting the guy some slack is okay…'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"So, why'd you sign up for the newspaper crew in the first place?"

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke as the two were walking through a crowded street in the city's main shopping area.

Wearing his bored, yet pondering mask, which Naruto had now noticed was his default expression, he just shrugged and replied; "It looks good in future situations, like when applying for a job,"

"Yeah, that's why I signed up too," Naruto grinned up at Sasuke, who just shook his head.  
'He acts like a little kid… Always grinning and being so cheerful,' he thought to himself, 'Idiot,'

"So," Naruto started, "Now that we're here, let's find someone to ask to answer the survey!" He looked around the street. People were walking around, some hurrying and others just window-shopping. The cafés were filled almost to the brim, especially the ones with outdoor serving. It was a beautiful early September day, the summer still lingering in the air. It was Saturday, and just a few days since the two had found out they were paired up for the school newspaper crew assignments.  
Upon receiving their first assignment the day before, they had agreed to get the survey done during the weekend, and then work on preparing the stats to give the editors.

"It's fun being out here and talking to people," the blonde said, "but I wish we'd gotten a bit more interesting assignment though…" He sat down on a bench and started sketching a list to fill in for the survey.

"They don't give first year student the big assignments right away. They give us these easy ones to ease us into the system," Sasukes eyes scanned the area. He looked at the assignment sheet. It said to ask the survey questions to at least five people, preferably including both genders, from each of the following groups; teenagers, young adults and parents.  
Sasuke shuddered. Teenage girls. All that squealing, the giggling, it was just so annoying.

He looked over at the blonde. He'd never ask directly, that was just out of the question, but he could try to lure the little idiot into it, couldn't he?

"Oi," he started, "I'll go over there and ask that woman over there with the kid, and you go over there and ask those girls," he nodded his head slightly to a group of girls at a nearby café, probably around sixteen or seventeen years old.

Naruto just looked at him for a moment. This just seemed kinda odd, didn't it?  
Most guys would never let a chance to talk to those pretty, young girls go to waste, but here Sasuke was just handing it to him. Naruto didn't really care, seeing as he had his little crush on Sakura, but this was just a little… _off_… Sasuke certainly didn't seem like the charitable guy.  
'Hmm…' he thought as he stared at the raven-haired boy, 'maybe he's gay…'

As soon as that thought was processed in his mind, he blushed.  
'No way, that can't be!' still staring at Sasuke his mind tried to make sense of things, 'but, then again, he does seem to not care about all those girls that are flirting with him all the time…'

Sasuke looked at Naruto, who still just sat there staring at him.  
'Why's he blushing?' he thought, eyeing the blonde suspiciously.

"Oi!" he snapped his fingers in front of the blondes face, "Wake up, idiot!"

That finally broke Narutos hypnotized gaze, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Are you gay?"

…

……

"What…?" he finally broke out of the shock the blonde's blunt question had put him in. He looked down at him with 'WTF?' written all over his face.

"Um, oh, I-um, erh…" Narutos blush deepened as he realised he'd just said that out loud, "Aw, crap, I didn't mean to, um, err… sorry,"

Standing in front of the embarrassed blonde boy, Sasuke felt all energy drift out of him. 'God… I'm exhausted already… I never know what he's thinking, I've never met anyone with such poor impulse control, and who's so… innocent. At least not anyone above the age of ten.' Sweat dropping a bit at the last thought, the black-eyed boy then sighed heavily.

"No, idiot," he finally answered, massaging his temples to treat the rapidly increasing blonde-induced headache, "I am not gay. Whatever gave you that stupid idea?"

Still very much embarrassed and with the blush firmly in place, Naruto answered while looking away from Sasukes gaze, "Well, I kinda, you know, started wondering since you didn't wanna talk to those girls, and you never seem to care about girls at all, even though they're all over you. I've never seen you do anything but shun 'em, you know? So then I just, sorta, started thinkin', and… you know…"

"That doesn't mean I'm gay, you know," Sasuke started, shaking his head tiredly, "that just means I'm not interested in those idiots, regardless what sex they are,"

Naruto could accept that story, at least for now.  
'But, hey, wait a minute… did he just say…?'

"Hey," Naruto suddenly exclaimed, "Don't call Sakura an idiot! She's interested in ya, and she's _not_ an idiot!"

Sasuke then suddenly stared directly into Narutos eyes, with an intensity so strong it made the blondes receding blush threaten to creep up again, and said with a stern voice, "She said I was 'the man of her dreams'. As you noticed yourself, I overheard her proclamation of 'love' that day, seeing as I passed you right after it," he paused, "I bet you've wondered why it didn't affect me more; being the person she spoke of with those words. But how is she not an idiot? How isn't she a fool? Claiming to love someone you've only seen once, and haven't even exchanged a single word with; how is that not foolishness? How can that be love? The only thing you know about the person is what they _look_ like."

Naruto felt his heart race. The raven-haired boy had been so intense, both in gaze and speech, and Naruto had noticed the weight, and maybe even slight bitterness, he'd placed on one of the words.  
_Look. _'He must be sick of that shallowness,' he thought to himself, his eyes still locked with Sasukes black orbs, 'Oh… he must be so tired of it. Knowing that what started their affection towards him was just what's on the outside… and not who he is,'  
The blondes big blue eyes, suddenly filled with sadness, and before he could even try to stop himself, his hand grabbed Sasukes, and he thought to himself, 'It must hurt…'

As the blonde sitting before him suddenly took his hand in his own, Sasuke felt himself flinch just a bit. 'Why is he holding my… Why does he suddenly look so sad?'  
He felt a slight pain in his chest, 'Dammit, why did I say that crap?' he thought angrily to himself. The blue-eyed boy must have understood more than he meant him to. He didn't want pity. He hadn't meant to let something like that slip. But that was what he got for keeping stuff locked up so much, he figured, while cursing his lack of control over his feelings.

He pulled his hand out of the blondes soft, but secure grip, and finally broke their eye contact.

Naruto still looked up at Sasuke, who had turned away, his eyes no longer visible to him.

"Let's just get this thing over with," he said and started walking away, heading for a family a few meters ahead.

Watching his back, Naruto gave a small smile.

'I guess you're just like the rest of us, ice-princess, things can hurt you too,' he thought warmly, standing up. Shaking his head, he switched his focus over to the survey, and got to it.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Naruto!"

A bubbly pink-haired girl jumped Naruto from behind, and started shaking him violently.  
'Why are her greetings so vicious!' he thought distraught to himself while trying to grab a hold of her to stop her before he got a concussion.

"What's wrong Sakura chan?" he asked while stepping aside to let her into his apartment. She had called him half an hour earlier and told him that she needed to talk to him.

Knowing how she felt, he wasn't all that excited, but happy still to be in her company. Even if she didn't like him in that certain way, she was still one of his closest friends.  
She walked in, and sat down at his kitchen table on the left side of the room.

His apartment wasn't bad. It wasn't very big, but it was big enough for him. It was shaped almost as a square, and had a small kitchen nook at the left side when entering the apartment, a bathroom at the right, and the rest was his living room and bedroom combined. He was fairly happy with it; now that he'd saved money for a while, he'd had enough to decorate it like he'd wanted. The colours on the walls were light and soft, and he'd gotten a somewhat unity in the furniture. Now that he'd gotten his books for school, the only thing he needed was a computer, so he wouldn't have to borrow the schools'. He couldn't take it home more than a day at a time, in case someone else needed it, so having his own would be nice.

He closed the door, and walked over to the small table and sat down opposite of Sakura.

"So," he started, "What's up?"

Sakura stared intently at him; "I just found out that you got teamed up with Sasuke-kun for that newspaper thing you signed up for!"

"Yeah so?" he replied, "Why's that such a big deal?"

The energetic girl puffed her cheeks and complained, "You should have told me, Narutooo! You know I love him!"

Naruto then suddenly remembered what had happened earlier that day, recalling what Sasuke had said. He felt a bit disappointed in the girl in front of him. 'She shouldn't be so shallow,' he thought to himself. He decided not to say anything about it, Sakura would get upset, and that might start a new round of shaking. But, he also didn't _want_ to tell her. He was a bit angry at the pink-haired girl for being just like the others. He figured that for something like that to slip off the tongue of such and private person as the Uchiha, who seemed to be very much in control of himself, not saying more than absolutely necessary about himself to anyone (and even less sometimes), it must be on his mind a lot.

"Must have slipped my mind, Sakura chan," he answered truthfully, he really hadn't thought about telling anyone. "Sorry," He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, never mind that now. I came to ask you a favour," she blushed, and then continued with a firm voice, "Naruto! I need you to be my spy and lobbyist!"

Naruto stared suspiciously at her for a minute.

"What do you mean?" he asked carefully.

"I want you to be my Sasuke-spy!"

…

"…What?" he asked in disbelief.

"I need you to spy on him for me! To let me know what kind of person he is! I want to know aaaaall about him, but girls can't seem to get near him, so then, when I heard about you two being teamed up, it all just clicked!" she got up to her feet, and walked over to Naruto, "You tell me what he's like, and also, put in a good word for me! Tell him about my best features, all the good qualities! Then he'll start to like me back, and I'll get the man of my dreams!"

The blonde boy stared with shock and disbelief at the warrior like girl in front of him.

"You're… you can't be serious, can you?" he said.

"I would never joke about this," she said, staring intently into Narutos eyes.

Naruto felt almost dizzy, how could she think that he'd even consider it? She knew how he felt, he'd never do it! No one in their right mind would ever do something like that!

"Sakura chan, you know there's no chance I'd do that! I'm not going to spy on him, and I'm not a match-maker either!"

Sakura suddenly fell down on her knees on the floor in front of Naruto, her head hanging, her eyes not visible to him. Before Naruto could ask her to get up, she suddenly looked up at him, eyes filled to the brim with tears, looking absolutely devastated.

"S-Sakura… chan…" he said, shocked by the look of pain in her eyes.

"Please… Naruto kun…" she begged, and as a single tear fell down her right cheek, Naruto broke to pieces. He hated seeing people he cared about cry. Crying… it was just so painful to watch.

"…Fine," he said, wiping her tear away, looking absolutely miserable.

Sakura thought to herself that maybe she'd come on a bit stronger than necessary with that act, but quickly shook that thought out of her head. She'd gotten her way! That was great, now she'd be a step ahead of all those other girls.

"Oh, thank you, Naruto!" she exclaimed and gave him a quick hug, before getting to her feet, "I should hurry and leave, though," she said, walking towards the door, "I'm going out tonight with some girls from class and Ino and Hinata,"

"Yeah, okay," Naruto said quietly.

"Thanks again!" she yelled as she walked out the door, closing it behind her.

…

Sitting alone, one blonde, blue-eyed boy felt a pain return to his chest for what seemed like the millionth time, a pain so familiar; it was like it had always been there.

'I'm no ones precious person…'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Taking his time, Naruto walked home from school the following Monday. It was warm out, but slightly chillier than that last Saturday. 'Guess autumn's coming around,' he thought to himself, making a mental memo to wear a jacket to school tomorrow.  
Suddenly, his pocket started vibrating and the song Dare by Gorillaz started playing on his cell phone.

"Hello?" he answered the call, smiling.

'I can actually _hear _him smile… God, he's so weird,' Sasuke thought to himself before answering him.

"It's Sasuke," he started, "I'm calling about the survey we did Saturday. I thought we'd better get the stats ready to give to the guys at the paper,"

"Oh yeah, that's right. So, when do you wanna get it finished?"

"I was thinking as soon as possible, I'm free most of the week,"

"I'm working a lot this week, but I have no plans for today, so we could just do it later?" Naruto said while walking up the stairs to his apartment, having reached the building a moment earlier.

"Okay, where should we work then?"

"Um, well," he locked himself into his apartment, dumping his backpack on the floor, "My apartment's kinda messy now, and I don't have a computer yet, so…"

"Then we'll do it at my place, that'll be most convenient," Sasuke answered, "You don't know where I live I guess, so I'll just come pick you up,"

"How do you know I don't know where you live?" Naruto teased, sitting down on his couch.

"Yeah, real funny," Sasuke replied, "Just tell me when and where I should pick you up?"

"Um…" Naruto thought for a moment, "I could just walk over to school if that'll be less trouble? It's a five minute walk from here, so I can just walk over there now and you can come get me if that's okay with you?"

"Sure, it'll take me about that time to drive there anyway,"

"Okay! See you in a few minutes then!" Naruto said, and they hung up.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Well arrived at the school parking lot, Naruto sat on a bench and waited for Sasuke to show up.

'Guess I walked too quickly,' he thought to himself.

He was feeling kind of down at the moment, just remembering what Sakura had made him promise. He was supposed to help the girl he liked get together with a guy he didn't think was right for her. He couldn't get what they had both said that last Saturday out of his head, and the two situations made a huge inner conflict light up in him. He didn't like spying on another guy for the girl he liked, and he didn't like the thought of trying to get Sasuke to like her. It felt like tricking him, after what he'd said about the shallow feelings girls like Sakura had for him. He felt that even the ice-princess, cold as he were, deserved something deeper than that.  
In Narutos opinion, everyone deserved to be truly loved for who they were.  
He himself had wanted to know what that felt like since forever, so, if he wanted that for himself, then why shouldn't everybody else get to feel it too?

But then, cutting him off from his sulking, a car horn sounded and Sasuke opened the door of his car.

"Come on, get in!" he said, looking over at Naruto.

'Did he look all sad just now, or is my mind playing games with me?' he thought to himself. But just then, the blonde got up on his feet and grinned, waving a "Hi!" to him, making every possible trace of sadness disappear from his face. Still pondering about this, Sasuke remembered the day when that pink girl had made him look like that, and what his friends had said afterwards.  
However, Naruto didn't give him much more time to contemplate this issue, as he started talking as he got seated in the car.

"I guess I got here a bit early, huh? I'm not very good at estimating time, so I'm usually too early or late. You know my friend, Sakura? She's always very punctual. Don't you think that's a good quality? And she's very pretty too, don't you think? That short pink hair looks so beautiful." And he continued like that, to Sasukes annoyance, the rest of the trip to the Uchiha mansion, talking non-stop about how great the pink-haired girl was, trying to get Sasuke to agree. Sasuke himself didn't quite get why the blonde seemed to want him to agree with all the crap pouring out of his mouth, seeing as Naruto obviously liked that girl. And not only that, but the blue-eyed boy seemed to get more and more quiet as he went on, slowly letting a look of sadness, and maybe even anger, claim his face, seemingly unnoticed by Naruto himself. A few minutes after the ride had started; it ended as they drove onto the property of the Uchiha family.

"Oh my GOD!" Naruto looked around himself, with an absolutely amazed look on his face, "You _live_ here!"

A bit relieved that the blonde was all happy and excited again, a small unconscious smile disguised as a smirk appeared on his pale face as he replied, "Yes, that's why we're here," He got out of the car, and walked up toward the door of the enormous house, the blonde following his lead.

It looked almost like a castle, three very tall storeys high, and very, very large in both width and depth. Naruto thought to himself that this looked like one of those mansions the stars on TV live in, only even bigger than most. And when he looked to his sides, he saw that the garden with all its trees and flowers and even a fountain at the right of the driveway, must stretch at least fifty meters on the sides of the house. He wondered what it was like in the backyard, if the front yard was _this_ huge. And not only was it large, but also very beautiful. The trees weren't cut into shapes, or made to look artificial, they were growing like they wanted to, in every direction, and that was how Naruto liked to see trees. They shouldn't be made to look like something they weren't. And the flowers - the flowers were the most beautiful he had ever seen. He loved flowers, all the vibrant colours and different shapes. And the flowerbeds spread over the yard, in neat square boxes made of natural rocks, were one of the most impressing beautiful things he had ever seen. Together with the large trees, spreading their branches several meters from the trunk, their leaves hanging over the garden like green veils, and the wall surrounding the property, covered in wall-climbing plants, and the large fountain, it was the prettiest place Naruto had ever seen. As he thought this to himself, he blushed. It was just… stunning.

Sasuke noticed his companion stop while they were on their way toward the entrance, and looked back at him. He was just standing there, his eyes scanning his surroundings, gazing at the garden especially. This last part made Sasuke a bit uncomfortable. But still, he didn't really mind that the blonde was staring wide-eyed on the flowerbeds and trees. It was… okay. He could look all he wanted. He did look happy, he was even blushing. Not like in the car a moment ago. Unaware of it himself, Sasukes heart eased, and a thought flew unnoticed through his mind, 'He shouldn't be miserable, it just looks wrong on him,'  
After another moment, Sasuke snapped out of his gaze on the smaller boy in front of him, and shoved the question of why the hell he was staring, to the back of his mind. Naruto still stared intensely at the garden, drowning in the beauty of it all, and paying no attention to the rest of the world.

Just as an urge to go to the backyard, an urge to see more of this incredible beauty, hit Narutos body, and he tried to take a step forward, a voice called him back to reality.

"Hey!" Sasuke said to Naruto, looking directly at him, "We should go inside now, need to get the survey papers finished, remember?"

Naruto looked at the Uchiha boy in front of him, feeling the now residing blush creep back up.

No matter how much he didn't appreciate noticing it, the garden surrounding them wasn't the only beautiful thing there. No wonder Sakura liked this guy so much; he was probably the most handsome guy on the college. Feeling a bit down suddenly again, Naruto bowed his head just a bit, not feeling like meeting Sasukes gaze. He felt like he was betraying him, trying to get him to like Sakura. But, she had been so sad… He just couldn't break her heart. Even if it did involve breaking his own a little bit.

Seeing how the blonde was acting, Sasuke instantly regretted shaking the boy out of his thoughts when he had stared at the garden.  
'Damn,' he thought, not liking the situation at all.

"Come on," he said, making Naruto look up again, "We have some cake left from a business party we had yesterday, I'll get you some, if that'll make you start working,"

Narutos eyes grew wide again, 'Why is he giving me cake?' he thought to himself. Sasuke giving him cake seemed kinda uncharacteristic, even if he was trying to bribe him. He would have suspected to be kicked into working if he slacked off, not being given culinary motivation. But then, all previous thoughts flew out of his mind, as he suddenly thought of what cakes rich people like these would have.

"Woohoo!" He then exclaimed, grinning like mad at Sasuke, "Let's get to it, then!"

Feeling victorious at his plans success, Sasuke lead the way toward the door, and they entered the big house.

"Whoa," the blonde said in awe as they walked inside, taking their shoes off in the large entrance hall, placing them at a very neat shoe rack, "Are you guys millionaires or something?"

"Yes, I guess we are," the youngest Uchiha said while taking a right in the entrance hall, walking into a smaller room, and continuing through another door into a large kitchen. It was very cosy, and still very elegant. The appliances were all metal and black, and the room and benches were a light colour, and the light drapes made a soft light flow into the room.

Sasuke walked over to the fridge, "Come on, which ones do you want?"

"Um…" Naruto walked over too, and looked in. The fridge was huge, the size of two big normal ones, and was well-filled with all sorts of food and drinks. There were several cakes, chocolate, whipped cream, marzipan, rolled cakes, small bite sized desserts like tiny brownie pieces and small fruit desserts, and muffins and buns and cinnamon rolls and stuff Naruto didn't even know what were, and seeing as he was working in a bakery, he was very impressed by that. The other cakes looked like they were from completely different parts of the world. There weren't many of each kind left, and Naruto thought to himself that the party must have been big.

"You can eat as much as you want," Sasuke then said, "It'll just get thrown out if no one wants it,"

"Really?" the blonde looked wide-eyed at Sasuke.

"That's what I just said, wasn't it?" he replied, smirking a bit at the obvious impressed look on Narutos face.

"I'd like…" he said while his eyes scanned everything once more, "that one, and that one, and that…" and he continued like that for awhile, making Sasuke look at him in disbelief. No one could eat that much.

"You're gonna throw up if you eat all that," he said to the blonde while grabbing a plate from a cupboard. He started piling all the different kinds (which were almost every kind) of cake and dessert the blonde had asked for.

"Well, if I do, I assume you'll take nice care of me," Naruto said humorously with a smile, and started digging in.

"Whatever, idiot," Sasuke said while rolling his eyes, watching as the blonde stuffed himself.

"Aw, Sasuke, you're mean!" he said, pouting slightly, but not wholeheartedly, as he was enjoying his many desserts too much, "You've gone so long without calling me idiot today, but now you did. And here I was thinking that you might be starting to hate me a little less,"

At that note, Sasuke started to frown a bit. "I don't hate you," he said before he could stop himself. Usually he didn't care if anyone thought he hated them; that would just be their problem; it wasn't like he was too fond of many people anyway. But he didn't really like that the blonde thought that he hated him. He wasn't like the rest. Sasuke wanted him to understand that too. He who understood what everyone else didn't. He should understand this thing too.

And besides, he didn't want to be one of the reasons the twerp looked so down sometimes.

Naruto looked up at him, curiously. He didn't really mean anything by that comment, and Sasuke seemed so serious now.  
Well, maybe he had meant it a little, but he didn't really want it to show. He did think Sasuke hated him, he probably thought Naruto was dumb and really annoying.  
Naruto felt embarrassed.  
He looked down on his desserts again, angry to have said such a thing. Now it'd be awkward.  
'Stupid, stupid, stupid' he thought to himself, fighting a blush.

"I won't call you idiot anymore," he said, staring intently at Naruto, trying to catch his eyes, "I'm sorry,"

At that, Naruto looked up at the boy sitting on the other side of the table. He was shocked. Sasuke actually apologized? And he didn't think Naruto was…

"You don't think I'm an idiot?"

"No," Sasuke replied instantly, and continued before he could stop himself, "You can be many things, but you're not stupid… You actually seem to be one of the most understanding people I've met,"

Narutos big blue eyes widened, and he blushed even more.

"Um, you don't have to… um, er, say that…" He looked down again, and fiddled with his hands, looking like he didn't have the slightest idea how to handle the situation.

"But, it's true" Sasuke then replied, feeling an urge to make sure the blonde understood. He wasn't dumb.

'He doesn't really think he's stupid does he?'

Naruto still looked away, red as a tomato. (Sasuke likes tomatoes XD -B/N)

'Why is he saying that?' he wondered sadly to himself, feeling slightly pathetic.

"Hey…" he said, walking over to the blonde and kneeling in front of him. Naruto looked even more panicking now that Sasuke was so close and so intent at seeing the blonde's face.

He felt fright take over, and he whispered "No…" as Sasuke reached his hand out toward his face. He didn't want Sasuke to see him like this; he couldn't let anyone see him like this, 'How can he get so close? I've only just met him, why is he so close!' his eyes flickered between Sasukes two black orbs, and he pulled slowly back as the other boys pale hand closed in on his face.

Sasuke looked into Narutos face. He looked scared. Sasuke didn't like seeing him like that, but he needed to make him understand that he wasn't dumb, and that Sasuke didn't hate him. He especially didn't want Naruto to think he was dumb, he deserved better than to feel bad, he should have more self-esteem... Naruto was the first person Sasuke had ever wanted to understand these things, and he didn't want to ignore that feeling. Naruto was special, and he didn't seem to understand that himself.  
'Hmm…' Sasuke suddenly thought to himself, 'He _is_ kind of special, isn't he?' realising it fully for the first time that the blonde wasn't like anyone he'd ever met before.

As it dawned on him, a small blush painted his pale cheeks, as he finally caught the blue eyes and tanned chin of the boy in front of him.

"I don't hate you, and you're _not stupid_," he said firmly, locking their eyes in an intense gaze.

Naruto felt his heart beat rapidly, and felt very relieved and happy. He didn't know why.  
Sasuke just seemed so honest. He had never had anyone act like this toward him before. No one had ever been this straight forward. No one had ever been this… warm. He felt the hand on his chin, and leaned toward it.  
'Warm…'

He closed his eyes with a small grateful smile, and before either of them knew what was happening, he moved forward, and fell onto Sasuke, making him fall over on his behind, catching Naruto in his arms. He felt numb, and just hugged the raven-haired boy whose arms slowly wrapped themselves limply around him too.  
Sasuke felt a lightness in his chest. It seemed like he'd reached the blonde, and he thought to himself 'I guess it's okay to stay like this for a little while…'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N : **Hi! Woho, Chapter two is up and running!

Sorry about the no Author note thing on the first chapter, it was my first time to post here on so I kinda messed it up.

But here it is! An autho note! Thank you so incredibly much to everyone who reads this, I hope you all enjoy it! I'm sorry to you who sent me a comment, I don't know exactly how to reply... I will though, just need to ask my beta how. Forgot today, so I'll ask her tomorrow.

And thank you Myst-chan! She's my beta! And I'm hers! Go check out her stuff, it's really really good, and her new story is just awesome.

Please read and review if you can, I like hearing what people think The two notes I got for chapter one were so nice TuT But of course, constructive critisism is good too, tips and new angles of looking at stuff can be helpful.

Aaaaanyways, hope you like! Chapter three isn't far away, seeing as I've already written three pages already (in the letter size 10 even)

So bye! Thank you for reading!

Until next time, lots of looove from P.Peachy XD


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As the minutes passed, the two still sat quietly in each others arms on the kitchen floor in the Uchiha mansion.  
Neither of them wanted to break the embrace, and were just sitting there, enjoying the closeness and warmth.  
However-

"Sasuke!"

A tall man walked in, surprisingly alike the boy holding Naruto in his arms.

Naruto facing him, his head leaning on Sasukes shoulder, again turned a hot red, embarrassed like never before.  
The face of the man in the door suddenly went from shocked to sly in an instant, making Naruto panic again.

"This is not what it looks like!" he screamed and leapt off Sasuke, almost slamming into the kitchen counter behind him. Sasuke still sat on the floor, his hand on his forehead, looking a mix of embarrassed and tired.

"Why, Sasuke, you dawg you!" the man looked at Sasuke, and then Naruto, "Feeling up your girl- wait, boyfriend in the kitchen?"

'Boy, huh?' the man thought to himself, eyeing the slender features of the horrified Naruto, 'Ah well, whatever, he still found a hotty,'

"He's not my boyfriend!" Sasuke exclaimed, getting pissed off, this was so embarrassing, "Just get out brother, now!"

The man smirked, "Fine, fine," he replied, "But if you two didn't want to be disturbed, you should've just gone up to your roo-"

"OUT. NOW." Sasuke glared at the man, standing up with a fiery aura around him.

With a last look at the blonde, smiling slyly, he walked out.

Naruto stood by the counter, looking absolutely horrified, shaking and breathing heavily. His face was still painted a deep red, and a few meters away, Sasuke felt surprisingly disappointed at the hug ending.

"I'm sorry, my brother can be a bastard sometimes," he sighed, looking away from the blonde.  
'Damn,' he thought.

Naruto still didn't say anything, he just felt so embarrassed, he had no idea what to do.  
Sasuke noticed the mortified look on the boys face, and mentally cursed his brother. He didn't like to see the blonde so uncomfortable, and he didn't want this to distance them.  
He liked having Naruto around, and he didn't want things to be uncomfortable.  
And what struck him as a bit surprising was the fact that he didn't usually like physical contact, but with Naruto it was okay. He felt a bit confused. Fine, the blonde wasn't like the rest, but why did he want to be _physically_ close to him again? What did that have to do with anything?  
Ignoring that thought for now, the raven haired boy decided he had to do something to repair the damage his brother had caused before letting the blonde leave.

At Narutos end, everything was chaos. He had never been this embarrassed in his life. To be found in such an incriminating position… He was at a loss for words. And what had happened to put them in that position made him blush again. He felt a little embarrassed about that too, and hoped Sasuke didn't think any less of him.  
'But,' he thought, 'He hugged me back…' The raven haired boy had held him too, and they'd been like that for a good five minutes before being interrupted. He smiled internally to himself, Sasuke was really nice, and he knew in his heart that Sasuke really accepted him, even when he saw a bit of the Naruto he tried to conceal as much as possible. He knew he didn't think any less of him, and that made his worries ease.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke started, as he walked over and stood next to the blonde, who finally broke loose of his own deep thoughts.

Instantly, a new blush crept up his tanned cheeks as the black eyed boy looked straight at him. He was sure Sasuke didn't think any less of him, but it was still one hell of an embarrassing situation.

"Uh… Um, y-yeah, I'm okay, don't worry about me!" he tried to make his usual grin, but failed miserable, at least in the eyes of the Uchiha, who had now learned to tell somewhat difference between the different smiles.

"Don't lie, Naruto," he said, "I know you're uncomfortable,"

The blonde then looked a bit away from Sasukes eyes, "Maybe just a little," he replied quietly.

Sasuke sighed, and gave a small smile, "It's very understandable, believe me. I could kill my brother right about now, but we have work to do first,"

Naruto then looked back up at the boy beside him, and nodded with a smile.  
They started walking toward the door of the study, when Sasuke then said; "But, don't forget what I said, I meant all of it,"

Naruto turned toward Sasuke with a slightly surprised expression on his face, not expecting Sasuke to care this much. As much as to tell him twice, even after such an uncomfortable incident afterwards.  
Giving Sasuke a smile so pure and real it made the Uchihas cheeks turn a light pink, the blonde and his partner sat down in the study and finished their assignment.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

The next day, Naruto ran everywhere after school, delivering pastry and bread to the citizens of Konoha, with a smile on his face and an even more positive attitude toward the customers than usual. Though slightly surprised, most found it nothing but charming and funny, as they watched the boy nearly skip down the road after making a delivery.  
Naruto had a wonderful day. He very much liked the fact that he felt he'd gotten a new friend. Even though he found it odd that the person he'd known for the shortest amount of time now knew one of the most private subjects of his insecurities, one of his weaknesses, he still enjoyed the fact that Sasuke had kind of seemed to want his friendship back. The young Uchiha didn't seem like he'd hug just anyone, and Naruto was very happy to have had that privilege.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

As work finished and Naruto walked on home, he searched his pockets.

"Crap," he mumbled annoyed, "Crap, crap, crap,"

He started to run up the stairs to his apartment on the third floor as he reached the building, and hurried inside. He then ransacked the entire area, leaving it looking rather messy, but not really caring.

"Dammit!" he exclaimed as he hit himself in the head. 'I must've forgotten my wallet over at Sasukes house…'

He hadn't seen it since then and figured he must've dropped it somewhere on the Uchiha property, seeing as he hadn't had it at school. He hadn't had the time to look for it before he left for school that morning, and had hoped it was lying somewhere in his apartment. But that clearly wasn't the case, and now the only option left was Sasukes house.

He got his cell phone out of his bag, and looked through the "accepted calls"-list to find Sasukes number. Saving it on the phone, he then pressed the 'call' button.

"Beep,"

…

"Beep,"

…

"Beep,"

…

'Come on Sasuke, answer! I need my money, gotta get some food before the stores close!' Naruto ranted inwardly to himself, while pacing restlessly.  
But even after letting it ring for almost a minute, Sasuke still didn't answer.  
'Ugh, I guess I better run over then and get it,' Naruto thought to himself while getting his shoes on.

A moment later he was running down the street, trying to remember the route to the Uchiha mansion.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

At the mansion, Sasuke walked into one of its largest rooms. His day had been nice, not because something special happened, but rather because of a certain blonde and a certain happening the day before. He'd never felt this excited over something as simple as contact with another person. He usually didn't care less about others, but he very much liked getting to know the blonde better.

A small smile graced his lips as he sat down and let his fingers caress the black and white below. He closed his eyes and let his mind go.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Huh… huff…"

Finally having reached the Uchiha mansion, Naruto stood at the gate, sweaty and out of breath. He walked over to the large and beautiful iron gate in the wall surrounding the property, and rang the little bell.

"Uchiha residence, to whom am I speaking?" a muffled voice sounded from the tiny speaker over the bell.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" he replied, still not completely recovered from the long run, "The guy from yesterday? Remember?"

"Ah, yes," the voice replied, "I remember, my brothers lovely _friend!_ Come on in!"

Before Naruto could reply, the gate then swung slowly open, and he had to walk in.  
'The guy in the intercom-thing must've been that brother of his from last night…' Naruto thought while fighting a growing blush.

The road up to the house was actually a bit long he then realised, and started walking up.

'Wow…' he thought to himself, 'The garden's just as pretty in the evening…'

It was a little dark out now, and the garden was now lit by soft white lights radiating from several elegant garden lamps and 'spots'. The soft light made everything look even more elegant, and Naruto lost all memory of what he was doing there and started walking into the garden on the left side of the house.  
Lit like this, everything had an unearthly peace to it, especially one large willow, hanging its leaves gently toward the ground. They seemed so heavenly, as if existing outside of time.He walked over, and reached his hand out to the leaves, as if trying to check if they really were there, and it wasn't just his imagination. But just as his hand was only an inch away, he suddenly heard sounds from behind him. He turned around, and realised that it was… a piano?  
He walked over to the house. Almost the entire wall facing him was made of windows, from top to bottom. Slightly transparent drapes covered the entire wall, making it hard to look inside.  
As he stood close to the wall and listened, a very beautiful melody reached his ears.  
'I wonder who's playing…' he thought to himself and tried to look inside. His eyes scanned the almost invisible rooms features, trying to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. A TV at the far right was out of the question; the screen seemed to be black.  
After a while, he suddenly saw something move slightly in the corner. A very large black thing was placed behind a black-haired person swaying delicately with the music. Naruto could only barely see the back of the persons head, and walked along the wall, trying to see if he could get a better look at whoever it was.  
The music continued playing, and Naruto listened intently. It was a beautiful song, melancholic as well as happy, and it filled his chest with that same feeling.

At the near corner of the house, he could finally see a bit of the persons face, and he leaned in toward the window, trying to see who it was.

'S-Sasuke…?' he thought surprised to himself.

Sasuke continued playing, eyes closed, moving along with the music as he pressed the keys on the grand piano. He looked so peaceful and happy, and Naruto had never seen anyone move with so much elegance in his life.

'Wow… He's… beautiful…' he thought quietly to himself, blushing like a maniac at his own mental statement.

But, even if he was embarrassed to think such a thought, he still knew he couldn't deny it. Sasuke looked absolutely beautiful. The way his fingers were gliding effortlessly to the exact right keys, the way his back was straight, how he leaned forward on some notes, and how peaceful he looked, his eyes closed and his lips softly sealed.  
Naruto felt his heart pound rapidly in his chest.

"Sasuke…"

But the sudden noise of a cat jumping into a bush behind him shook him out of his intense staring at the boy inside, and he remembered what he had come there for. As much as he didn't like it, he knocked on the window, making the raven haired boy jerk his eyes open and turn around, searching for the source of the noise.  
When he walked over, pulled the drapes away and saw Naruto looking straight at him, smiling awkwardly, he started blushing like mad.  
'He's been out there!' he thought to himself, feeling very embarrassed.

"Can I come in?" Narutos muffled voice said from the other side of the window.

Sasuke walked over to a door in the wall to his right, and unlocked it, letting Naruto enter the mansion.

"I think I forgot my wallet here yesterday, and I need to go shopping. I forgot to last night, so now I'm all out of food except mayonnaise, spices and flour. And that can't be summed up to a good meal no matter how good a chef you are," he said grinning.

"Um, okay… Let's just look for it then," the raven haired boy said, still feeling very much humiliated.

Naruto caught on, feeling a bit bad. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop… It was just that is was so pretty… Maybe he should tell him?  
The two started looking for the wallet, and found it ten minutes later in the study next to the kitchen where they had been working the day before.

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed, holding it up in front of him. He turned to Sasuke, who seemed to have recovered from his initial embarrassment, and smiled a big smile at him, making the Uchiha shake his head, a smirk on his lips.

""Oh crap!" the blonde then suddenly said, looking at his watch, "It's only a minute till eleven, I've gotta run!"

Sasuke frowned, "A minute? You'll never make it in time, it's too far away to the nearest store,"

"But… I need food, um… if I run, I'll make it," he said while grinning sheepishly.

Sasuke shook his head, "No, you wont," He walked into the kitchen, Naruto following his lead, "You can eat here now, and then get your groceries tomorrow after school or something,"  
He started walking toward the fridge, "Okay?"

Naruto looked at him, and then smiled a very genuine smile, "Yeah, thanks Sasuke,"

"No problem," Sasuke replied as he turned away to hide a small blush. That smile was just cute. Even if he was a guy, that smile was still cute. Especially when he'd said 'thanks' to him as well. He didn't know why.

"So, what do you want?"

"Um… what do you have?" Naruto asked while walking over next to him.

"Just look and see if there's anything you want," he said, letting the blonde next to him search through the fridge with his eyes. "We also have different cereals and stuff you just shove into the microwave,"

"I'd like French toast!" Naruto then exclaimed, pointing excitedly into the fridge.

"Fine," Sasuke replied, taking the toaster out of the cupboard, "Get out the stuff you want to put in it,"

Naruto nodded and got out the cheese, ham, ketchup and walked over to where Sasuke was standing at the counter.

"Do you want to make it yourself, or should I?" he asked.

"Haha, you don't have to do that Sasuke, I can fix it!"

"Okay," he then replied, sitting down at a bar stool next to the counter.

"But since you're being so nice and giving me food, can I make you some too?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, smiling.

"…Yeah. Okay, I'd like some toast too," he said, smiling a small smile back.

Naruto started slicing the bread and making everything ready to put into the toaster. A few moments later, they were both sitting on barstools next to each other by the counter, eating their toast.

"You like it?" Naruto asked after a minute, looking over at Sasuke, "It's pretty good, huh?" he asked with pride in his voice.

Sasuke smiled a little, "Yeah, it's really good, Naruto. Thanks,"

Naruto grinned a wide grin and continued eating. As he ate, he started thinking about Sasukes piano playing. It had been really beautiful, but then Sasuke had been so embarrassed. Nartuo had never seen him like that before, and he reckoned it was a rare event to see Sasuke embarrassed. But he didn't want Sasuke to be embarrassed about something like that; it was a good thing, not anything to be humiliated by.

"Sasuke," he started, "Y-You know when I came over today?"

Immediately, Sasuke froze up. A blush crept up his cheeks again.

"I know you… you know, were embarrassed about me seeing you, all in your own world while playing that grand piano, but… um, it-it was really beautiful, and I just want you to know that… I was actually amazed, I had no idea you could play the piano, and certainly not that you were this talented…" he said while blushing, trying to reach the raven haired boy to his left, "So-so please don't be uncomfortable about it, I don't want you to be…"

Sasuke blushed even more now, "…It's not so good. My brother Itachi is much better than me, I'm just an amateur,"

"No!" Naruto said, looking into Sasukes eyes as he turned him around by the shoulder, "You were wonderful! I love music, listen to it all the time, and I think that was the most beautiful melody I've ever heard!"

Staring into Narutos big blue pools, he felt the blush deepen at his complementing words.  
Praise from the blonde seemed somehow more meaningful, and more honest.

"I was actually wondering, um, maybe you could, you know, play me some tunes before I leave?" the blonde looked hopefully into Sasukes eyes, making his heart race.  
'God, why does he have to be so damn cute sometimes?' an annoyed thought popped into his mind.

This made him feel like blushing even more, and he finally turned away before answering, "Fine, I'll play a little,"

Narutos face immediately lit up, "You will? Aw, thanks Sasuke!" he said, smiling wide.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Twenty minutes later, the two were sitting on the piano bench.  
The black eyed boy was blushing slightly, and his companion was sitting excited on his left.

"Okay!" Naruto started, "So, what are you playing?"

"I usually just improvise something, but I know a few songs… Is there anything special you'd like to hear?"

"Oh, improv' please!"

He looked like a little kid, being so impressed and excited, Sasuke thought to himself, relaxing a little at the blondes behaviour.  
He then let his fingers stroke the keys, and closed his eyes as he started playing.

…

Naruto watched him intently, the way he moved, his expression, how his hair would follow his movements, looking as soft as silk. The music still had the same feeling to it now, with some melancholy and some happiness, and Naruto loved it. It was peaceful and longing, yet hopeful and vibrant. He let himself go, and felt the melody fill his mind.

After a while, he felt so relaxed, that he thought he'd fall asleep soon. Still, he didn't want Sasuke to stop; he was so wonderful when playing the piano. He seemed so tender and gentle.

Naruto felt his head tip over, meeting resistance after a short moment, as it hit Sasukes left shoulder. Too relaxed and comfy to care the least, Naruto just stayed there, letting the warmth emanating from Sasukes body overwhelm him, making him even more sleepy.

"…mmm…" he moaned quietly of comfort.

Sasuke blushed like mad for what seemed like the tenth time that day, but continued playing. He wasn't going to pretend he didn't enjoy this, he really did. And a proud Uchiha would always honour their feelings, right?

He looked down at the blonde, smiling at the peaceful look on his face. He had never seen that before. He blushed even more at the thought that it was his doing that had made the blonde seem this comfortable. He had never had anyone come this close before. Physically, yes, girls were practically hanging of his body at times, but closeness like this, even when they hadn't even known each other for that long; that was completely knew.

Closeness he wanted.

He wondered why it was like this with Naruto, why he felt like it was okay for him to come a bit closer than the rest. He was completely different from everyone else though. Maybe that was it. How he acted, and how he wasn't only what you saw on the outside, having his own insecurities and a personality deeper than just skin. Sasuke could relate to that after all. But it was something else too, Sasuke knew that. Maybe it was his gentleness? Or maybe, he was just special, and that was all…

As Narutos body slumped a bit, Sasuke quickly realised what was happening, and stopped playing to catch the sleeping body of the blonde at his side as he fell backwards.

"Wuh…?" a very sleepy, very cute Naruto managed to utter.

"Hey," Sasuke said, looking down at the blonde in his arms, "You fell asleep,"

Naruto looked slowly around himself, and finally noticed how Sasukes arms were around his waist and neck, keeping him from falling to the floor.

'Oh,'

As this whole situation dawned on him, he blushed deeply.

'He's so warm… just like yesterday… and again, here I am in his arms!' he thought, 'I can't believe he actually catched me…'

As he was being held by the other boy, he just couldn't help noticing yet again that he was incredibly good-looking. But it wasn't just his outside that made Naruto feel all aflutter.  
Sasuke wasn't like anyone Naruto had ever met.

Sasuke was special, in some way.

"S-sorry," he said. With a bit of help from the boy holding him, he managed to sit up. Slightly relieved to not be in the ravens arms anymore, he sighed to himself, calming his nerves. He admitted to himself that, yes, it was indeed comfortable to be in the other boys arms, but he didn't like loosing control over a situation. And when he felt the warmth of the boy beside him, he felt like that was exactly what was happening.

"I should go home now," he said, "I need to get up early tomorrow for work and then classes later," he added, wanting to explain.

Sasuke nodded, "I'll drive you home,"

"Thanks," Naruto smiled back at him.

Sasuke turned away, and sighed internally.  
'Dammit, why does he have to be so cute? Like when he smiles like that, or like when he was all sleepy just now? And why do I even think a guy is cute?' he thought to himself, confused and annoyed. He snuck another glance at the blonde next to him. Naruto was smiling just a little, looking at their surroundings, trying to get a full view of the living room as they walked through it. With that interested look on his face, he looked oh, so innocent.

Feeling defeat slap him in the face, Sasuke then thought tiredly to himself, blushing just a bit, 'Because he _is_…'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N : **WOW

I can't believe I got the third chapter up so quickly! just a weeee bit proud

I guess it was because I really wanted to do the scene where he plays the piano...

Buuut, it did take a bit longer than I had thought while writing the second. But that's because I wrote two different scenarios for the start and for what happened at the end.

But believe me, this was much better (if that actually means anything... you decide)

And I've already got the next three chapters lined up (the ideas at least, I've planned ahead) so it shouldn't take too long. But I'm going to my hometown the following week (week 41) so I'll be busy visiting my friends and family, and wont have too much time for writing.

But I'll try to get it up quickly! How could I not, when the notes/reviews I've gotten have been so nice? THANK YOU FOR BEING SO NICE TO ME! stars sparkle in eyes

But most importantly, thank you for reading my fic! And hopefully liking it :)

So! Review if you can, that'd be just great :) Hope you liked the third chapter of Don't Judge a Book by its Cover!

Until next time, again, lots of loooove from P.Peachy


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Aaaaah…"

The following weekend Naruto woke up at ten, feeling very satisfied with his weekend off.  
Sure, it meant a bit less money, but he'd been working so much lately, with both school, his job at the bakery, and now even his school newspaper job, even if they hadn't really started doing the tough assignments.

Through the drapes a bit of sunlight shone in on him, warming his body as he lay in his bed. Like always, his covers were laying half on bed, half on the floor, and his pillows randomly placed around him. This was not a slight bit surprising, seeing as he stirred a lot in his sleep, and had ever since he was a young boy.  
He scratched his naked belly in comfort, dragging his night shirt up to his chest (a big white t-shirt that is).  
This weekend was going to be nice. Just relaxation.  
Feeling very pleased with his decision to take the two days off, Naruto got out of bed to get some breakfast. He liked starting the day with a nice meal, and made himself French toast, one of his favourites.  
At the taste of the first bite, Naruto immediately remembered vividly the night he'd eaten toast last time.

He had been thinking about that last Tuesday night a lot the following days, and he had been a little… okay,_ very_, embarrassed then and there both for listening in on Sasuke like some crazy stalker, and for falling asleep and falling into his arms. Damning his own clumsiness, Naruto sighed. But, even if it had been somewhat awkward, that still didn't change the fact that Naruto had had some pretty weird thoughts about the other boy.  
Like, he'd thought Sasuke was really handsome. And that past tense was perhaps wrong to add too. He still knew Sasuke was handsome. But when he'd been in his arms, he'd seen it in a way he hadn't before. The feelings attached with it were new.

'Kinda like when people say they have butterflies in their stomach…' he thought to himself. That was the only phrase he could come up with that described the tingling well enough.  
And what worse was, he still liked being in Sasuke's arms. He could understand the first time, that was natural. When being comforted, a hug is nice. But this time he shouldn't have felt the way he did, in his own opinion.

And he didn't much appreciate it.  
Even if Sasuke was special, the whole thing was still disturbing.

But…

…

With a small smile, Naruto continued eating his toast, deciding not to think too much about his little dilemma at the moment.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Later that day, Naruto was walking around in the nearest mall. A game he had been waiting for had just been released a few days ago. Knowing where the best (aka lowest) price would be, he went to buy a new addition to this hobby of his.  
He'd just bought it as he walked over to grocery store in the large mall, to get some food for the weekend.

"Hi, Naruto-kun!" the small Hyuuga Hinata suddenly stood before the blonde, as if popping out of nowhere.

"Hinata!" Naruto said, startled.

"Good afternoon," she said, nodding courteously, "Didn't you see me walking over? You seemed surprised, Naruto-kun,"

"Ahaha, sorry Hinata, I guess I was daydreaming again!" he looked down at her, smiling guiltily.

"Th-there's no need to apologize, Naruto-kun!" she blushed a bit, "What are you doing here at the mall anyway?"

Holding a plastic bag out, Naruto grinned, "I just bought the new KH2 game! And now I was just on my way to get some groceries. Gotta eat, you know. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm here with Sakura and Ino and a few other girls. I just wanted to get something to drink, so I left them for a bit,"

"Well, wanna come shopping with me then? If you're buying a drink, it's much cheaper in the grocery store, and that way I'll have some company too," Naruto smiled at the Hyuuga girl. He liked Hinata, she was always so nice and pleasant to be around. Even if she was very timid and shy, it was nice to be around her.  
'She is a good friend,' Naruto thought to himself. She would always listen to whatever he rambled on about, and the few times she herself told him something, it would be interesting and fun, because she got so easily embarrassed of her own words. Even if they didn't hang out that much, she was still a friend.

"Really?" Hinata said, eyes large, and as Naruto nodded back at her, she replied "Y-ye-yes, that w-would be nice, Naruto-kun!"

He didn't get why she would act so timid sometimes, but Naruto still enjoyed her company.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

As they walked out of the store a bit later, Naruto with one bag of food in each hand and Hinata carrying a soda, five girls came walking toward them.

"Oh, hi everyone!" Hinata said to the group, smiling, "Sorry I'm late,"

"No problem, Hinata!" a blonde girl named Ino said, smiling at the Hyuuga.

"Hey Naruto," a couple the other girls said, and Naruto greeted them back.

"Naruto!" Sakura said, grabbing his arm, "I need to talk to you!" She looked back at the other girls as she walked away with the confused blonde in her iron grip, "Sorry girls, be right back, kay?"  
The two went into a café nearby in the mall, and sat down in a corner.

"What's up this time, Sakura chan?" he said, putting his bags next to his chair, smiling at his pink haired friend.

"I just wanted to see if you had the first update for me!" she smiled back, "You know, from gathering information as my spy," she added, slyly.

At that, Naruto blushed like mad.

'Oh, crap! What am I going to tell her!' he thought panicking to himself, 'I'm such a horrible liar, but I can't just tell her everything that happened! But, she didn't want to know about _me _and Sasuke… Just Sasuke! That's good! But… Ah crap, I hate doing this to him! I'm the worst person in the world…'

Across the table, Sakura eyed Naruto closely as his expression went from embarrassed and panicked, to relieved and then depressed. 'What the hell is he thinking about?' she thought to herself, not having a clue as to what made the slightly weird blonde act so… well, weird.

"So?" she finally said, "Got some information for me?"

That brought Naruto back to reality and he finally met Sakura's eyes again.

"…Um… I dunno, what do you wanna know?"

Rolling her eyes a little, the girl said, "You know, what's he like when it's just the two of you, and if you know if he has any hobbies or things he likes and dislikes… Just random things, I want to hear it all!"

Painfully deciding that he at least had to tell her something, since he had promised her, Naruto thought for a moment and then started, "Weeeeell… when it's just the two of us, he's kinda nice really. Not as cold like he seems out in public. And he's really smart!" Naruto tilted his head a bit, thinking, and continued, "And the only things I know he likes are music and French toast really… Oh, and plants! He's got to like plants, their garden's like the most amazing thing I've ever seen! And-"

"Wait!" Sakura interrupted, "You've been at his house?"

"Well, yeah, sure, we had to work on our paper assignment," Naruto shrugged.

Then he thought of what he'd just said. He hadn't really planned to tell her that much, even if it wasn't anything really big… but he had at least not meant to say it that excitedly, he thought confused to himself. When he'd started, he'd kind of lost his plan and just said what came to mind. And at that thought, he felt a bit of panic again, if he'd continued, he might have said something that really was big! He needed to get a hang of himself, he couldn't just loose control like that!  
Mentally scolding himself for his recklessness, Naruto shifted his focus back to Sakura again, meeting her eyes as she spoke.

"Anything else?" she said, looking at him.

"…No, not anything special really," Naruto lied, trying to convince himself of his statement as well.

"Okay… But, oh, you're so lucky!" she squealed, smiling, "I can't believe you actually got invited to his house! Even if it was to work, I still envy you!"

Naruto smiled awkwardly back at her, and laughed a small laugh, "Ah well, shouldn't you get back to your friends now?"

"Oh, yeah, I should hurry and call Ino to see where they are now!" she said, getting to her feet while finding her cell phone, "Thanks Naruto, I owe you one," she said while walking away.

When she was out of sight, Naruto sighed and got his bags. This whole ordeal was going to be tough; the next time would be even harder than this one had been...

But, he felt a bit confused now.  
Sakura… she, well, was cute as always today too, but… he didn't feel that same slight excitement when he saw her that he usually did.  
Not sure why it was like that, Naruto shrugged inwardly to himself, not feeling like doing more soul searching at the moment. He got up and walked back to his apartment, eager to try out his new videogame.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Aaaaaaargh! I'm coming, I'm coming! Hello?" a very stressed out Naruto grabbed his cell phone.

"Hi, it's Sasuke-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't talk right now, making dinner and the phone is in the way, stuffs gonna get burnt, so if you wanna talk you'll have to call back later or come over, bye!" he rambled on in one long and extremely quick sentence before hanging up.  
Feeling kind of surprised, and yet not at all (Naruto was a bit strange after all); Sasuke just sat there in his chair in his room with the phone in his hand, having just been hung up on.  
He then remembered what the blonde had said.

Call back later or come over.  
…  
Call back later, definitely.  
Or…?  
No, no, call back later.  
Or come over?  
No… call back.  
Or…?  
Okay, come over! That sounds better.  
Yeah. Sasuke was feeling kind of bored really.  
And the blonde seemed to always bring some sort of excitement or at least something interesting along with him.

He got up and headed for his car, making his way over to Naruto.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"BZZZZZZZZZZ!"

"I'm-coming-I'm-coming-wait-wait-wait-wait-wait!"  
Naruto ran over to his door.

"Sasuke?"

"Hey Naruto," the black eyed boy replied, "Wow, you look… awful," he laughed a bit after taking a look at the sweaty, dirty boy in front of him.

"Yeah, thanks," Naruto replied sarcastically, reaching his tongue toward Sasuke, before running in again, toward his stove, "Come on in; I have to take care of the food,"

"So, what are you making anyway?" Sasuke said while walking in, taking his shoes off at the door.

He had never been in Naruto's apartment before. He'd driven him to his house the last Tuesday, but had never been inside. He took a good look around when walking over to the blonde.  
It was nice really. Not really big, but it was big enough, and had a warm and comfortable feeling to it.

"I'm making steaklets with béarnaise sauce, potatoes and some veggies, but they aren't cooperating, so they take turns trying to boil over the pans' edges or trying to get burnt," he said while glaring at his dinner-in-the-making.

"Wow," Sasuke said, looking and feeling honestly surprised. He wouldn't have thought of the blonde as the type to make such an 'extravagant' dinner.

"What wow? I'd think you were used to better stuff than this, with a mansion and cook and all," he smiled at the obviously impressed Sasuke, feeling a bit proud.

"I just didn't think you were the type, that's all," he replied with a shrug.  
Naruto removed the pans from the stove and put them on the kitchen table, and said with a small laugh "You shouldn't categorize people, you know, Sasuke; especially when you know so little about them!"

Sasuke smirked a bit, "I think I know you a bit,"

"Ohoho, if you only knew!" Naruto grinned slyly at him, walking over to the cupboards.

"Well, I'd like to know," he said, looking straight at the blonde.  
He meant it; he wanted to get to know Naruto. He knew just by looking at the apartment that there were so many things he didn't know about him, but he didn't want to admit that to Naruto. He did sometimes jump to conclusions about the blonde, but far too often, he was completely wrong. He knew a few key things about the boy, but he wanted to know more.

At first, Naruto looked surprised at the slightly taller boy next to him, but his expression quickly changed to a warm smile, a small blush painting his cheeks, as he replied "You'll just have to stick around then, now won't ya,"

'He's so cute,' Sasuke thought to himself, feeling a blush claim his cheeks as well, at the warm smile given to him. 'And he always seems to say just what I want him to say, at the right moments…'  
"Yeah," he replied, "You're my friend, and a guy should know his friends, right?"

And then…

He smiled.

'Oh… my…' Naruto thought to himself.

Sasuke genuinely smiled, for the first time, and that made Naruto's heart beat like mad.  
It was such a warm, and not to mention beautiful, smile… And together with what he just said, Naruto felt his heart race.

Sasuke thought of them as friends as well!

He had been hoping the Uchiha thought of him in that way, and when he said it just now, Naruto felt incredibly happy.  
At that, Naruto smiled widely at the boy in front of him, "Yup!" He felt his chest feel light, and felt like hugging Sasuke, where he stood in front of him smiling the warmest smile Naruto had ever been given.

Aw, what the heck!

Jumping a bit forward, Naruto quickly embraced Sasuke, before letting go only a moment later, blushing like mad. He giggled a bit, and smiled at the other boy.  
Sasuke blushed as well, looking at the blonde with a very surprised expression on his face.

"Want some food?" Naruto then said, just wanting to enjoy the hug without any questions asked, "I made too much anyway, and I have some ice cream we can have for desert after!" He smiled again.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Sasuke took a moment before replying "Yeah, sure, that'd be nice,"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Half an hour later, the two were sitting on the floor, backs toward Naruto's bed, facing his TV.  
They were playing on Naruto's PS2, the newest edition of the Tekken series. After a bit of nagging after dinner, Sasuke had agreed to play with Naruto, and the two were now pushing buttons like crazy.

"So," Naruto said while delivering a special attack on Sasukes character, making him fly back, "why'd you come over anyways?"

Sasuke retaliated, punching Narutos character several times, "Just to tell you that I got an e-mail from the editors of the school paper saying we'd get a new assignment next week. It said it'd be a bit more work than last time, and I thought I should tell you, since you don't have a computer. I tried calling, but you remember what happened then,"

"That's nice of you," Naruto said, while trying to kick Sasuke's character. The attempt failed however, and gave Sasuke the perfect opportunity to deliver an attack knocking Naruto out.

"Wha- how can you be this good!" Naruto exclaimed, "You said you never play videogames!"

Sasuke smirked, "I don't," he replied, "Just talent I guess," he taunted a bit.

"One more time!" Naruto exclaimed, wanting to win at least once.

However, five matches later, he still hadn't won.

Sasuke laughed a bit, "You're kind of funny when you get competitive," he said, smirking.  
Naruto felt annoyed, 'Damn,' he thought, 'Loosing to a guy who never plays videogames! How lame isn't that!'

"Stop smirking," he glared a bit, not really that angry.  
That however, made Sasuke just smirk more, and he laughed again.

"Shut up," Naruto said, sulking.  
Sasuke laughed more at that, Naruto was so funny and cute when he was upset!

"Shut up!" he exclaimed again, getting more annoyed.  
That was too funny, and Sasuke laughed even harder.

That was it.

"Aaaaargh!" Naruto turned around and jumped on Sasuke, making the two fall over, and pinning Sasuke on the floor with his arms on Sasuke's shoulders.

"I may not be able to beat you in a videogame, but I can take you on in real life!" he grinned.

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke replied, seeing this as an obvious challenge. He grabbed Narutos arms, making them give in, and used his legs to lift the blond off him, and tossed him onto the bed they were lying next too.

"And here I thought you were strong," he teased as he stood up. The already worked up Naruto took the bait, and leapt off the bed, tossing his arms around the raven-haired boy's neck, making him sway massively and spin before the two fell over.  
Crashing on the bed, Sasuke felt the air almost being knocked out of him, as the blonde attached to his neck fell on top of him.

"Good lord, you're heavy," he moaned, "I give up, you win,"

"…Ow," Naruto replied muffled into Sasuke's chest.

"What? You're hurt?"

"I hit my nose on that damned concrete chest of yours,"

"Hey, are you okay?" Sasuke lifted Naruto's head of his chest with his hands so that they had eye contact.  
Naruto blushed at this, feeling a bit embarrassed to be lying in such a way on top of Sasuke.

And again, liking it.

"I'm fine," he said, hiding his head in Sasuke's chest again.  
Sasuke felt his face flush at this, Naruto hadn't gotten off him. Why?  
Naruto asked himself that exact same question, blushed yet again, and quickly got up, now sitting on top of Sasuke.  
He looked down on Sasuke, with a slightly frightened expression on his face (and a bit red), felling very confused. Suddenly, so sudden it almost startled the raven haired boy, Naruto's face turned to a big grin.

"I win!" he said, "I said I'd be able to take you on, didn't I?"

Sasuke just lay there, before shaking his head a moment later, "Yeah, by weighing too much,"

"Whatever, I still won!" the blonde grinned, "So! Want some ice cream?"

"Yeah sure," Sasuke answered, as Naruto got off him, and walked toward his fridge.

Deciding it best to not mention anything about what had just happened at the time being, Sasuke sat down at the kitchen table with Naruto, who now seemed like his usual self, smiling and enjoying his ice cream.

"But, yeah, thanks again for coming over to tell me about the assignment!" Naruto said, smiling at Sasuke.

"Yeah, I thought I'd tell you so you didn't make to many plans in case we'll need a bit of time to work on it," Sasuke smiled a bit back, enjoying his company much more than the far too sweet toffee ice cream.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Naruto then exclaimed, licking ice cream off his lips, "Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Shika and a bunch of other people are going out next weekend! I met Hinata earlier, and she asked if I wanted to come. Hey, you wanna come too? It'll be great, a few drinks, but not too many, of course, some nice music at the party before, and then we could go out! Hit a club or something! I don't go out like that too often because of work and stuff, but I really want to go this time, 'cos it's to celebrate Shikamaru's birthday and all. You wanna come too? You should, you know, you'll meet some really great people, and have tons of fun!" He grinned and added, "But I guess you knew that it'd be fun, since I'm going too,"

He laughed a bit, and looked excitedly at Sasuke, eyes filled with hope.  
'How the hell can I say no to those puppy dog eyes,' he mentally sighed to himself, 'Just too cute,'

"Fine, count me in," he finally said, failing to resist Naruto's pleading.

"Ah, yay!" the blonde exclaimed, reaching his hands upward in celebration before digging into the ice cream again.

Sasuke looked at him as he ate the rest of his ice cream, and shook his head.  
Next weekend… It could be okay, but he had a feeling that it would be mostly troublesome. After all, those girls would be there… Cursing his weakness for his friend, Sasuke sighed and finished his ice cream.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N : **Hi everyone

Uhm, first off, I'd like to say YES, I know this chapter is duuuuuuull, but it kinda needed to be limited in action, to get the timeflow/feeling of time in the story to be right... You know? Ehem... yeah

But don't worry, next will be good, muahahahahahaaaa... :D Just wait, I'll make up for making this one.

But finally Sakura got to play her role some more! And yeah, I know I kinda make her seem... well, not very nice and sweet in this fic, but I really do like Sakura. She's cool. But I want her to be like she is in the beginning of the manga/anime, when she kinda sucks.

Ehehehe, sorry, I won't ramble on much more now. Next update will probably be sooner, but I have a big-ass assignment due in ten days, so I have to work on that too (animating, weeee, fun :3 but lots of work ...)

Before I say bye, I'd like to say THANK YOUU AGAIN for being so nice to me :D So nice, I love getting comments and reviews, I appreciate every single one very much, so sank yuuu :D

Okay! Hope you lived through this chapter Until next time, lots and lots of love from P.Peachy!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next Friday Sasuke woke up, feeling even more tired than he had been when he'd gone to bed the night before.

"Uuugh…" he moaned. He'd been up till about four thirty before managing to fall asleep. The reason was the same as what it had been for the whole week, and he was getting tired of being so damn sleepy all the time and having these intense headaches due to his sleep deprivation.

Giving another loud moan, he finally got up to get dressed to go to school.

As he pulled his t-shirt over his head and began dressing himself, he thought yet again of what had preoccupied the young Uchiha's mind the entire week, both in sleep and when awake.  
'Goddammit,' he mentally cursed, grinding his teeth in annoyance, 'What the hell's wrong with me! I have no idea what's going on with me anymore!'  
He pulled his pants on and buttoned his shirt. Feeling fairly satisfied with how he looked, he walked out of the bathroom and went downstairs to get breakfast before leaving.

"Good morning Sasuke!" His brother smiled, standing in front of the stove, making an omelette.

"…Good morning, Itachi," Sasuke growled before getting a plate.

"Want some of my omelette? The best in town!" he practically sang, trying to tempt his rather sour brother.

"Yeah, sure,"

"What?"

"I said-"

"I know what you said, I just couldn't believe it! You actually take what I'm offering you, without a fight? Can't remember that ever happening since you were too young to object," Itachi made a shocked face, "What's wrong, little one, you're usually so feisty!"

"Nothing," Sasuke mumbled as he sat down at the counter across his brother.

"And I've noticed that you've seemed tired the past few days as well, and still you don't go to bed until four in the morning!" the older Uchiha son flipped his culinary art piece (as he would call it) in the air, catching it gracefully with the pan again, cooking it's other side for a bit as well.

"It's nothing, Itachi, I just have some trouble sleeping," Sasuke answered.

"Well, yeah, I figured as much. What's on your mind then, that keeps you up so late?" he removed the pan from the stove, and slipped some of the omelette onto Sasuke's plate and some onto his own, "Is it school? The work you do with that paper thing, or maybe some sexy girl's on your mind? Oh, wait, boy I mean," he smiled slyly, watching a now frozen up Sasuke with great interest.  
'Heehee, he's so easy to read!' he thought to himself.

Quickly, Sasuke continued eating, trying to hide his initial shock. He didn't think his perverted brother was this perceptive.  
"No, it's nothing, okay? Just drop it," Sasuke was getting rather annoyed.

"Nothing, eh?" he grinned, "All right, I'll drop it for now,"

"Thank you," Sasuke added, bitterly.

"Buuuut," Itachi started again, to his little brothers great annoyance, "Mother and father have been worried too, so you should get a hold of yourself soon, or they'll come prying too,"

A bit surprised at his brothers warning, Sasuke looked at him for a moment, before continuing to eat, "Yeah, I will, onii-san,"

At that, Itachi smiled warmly at his younger brother, and the two sat quietly and ate together.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

As Sasuke sat in class that morning, he again let his mind drift to what had been bothering him for so long.  
His brother really had hit the nail square on the head. And he knew that he'd be hearing about this in not to much time, Itachi just loved tormenting him about stuff Sasuke himself hadn't quite figured out what he thought of yet.  
He sighed. Right now, he felt incredibly annoyed. He hated not understanding something, and now he'd had a week to get worked up over it.

The problem at hand was indeed, as his (too) clever brother had implied.  
Naruto.  
The damn guy was constantly on his mind, even in his dreams! He just felt like he was loosing all control, and he had no idea what to do. But his brother was right. He didn't like to worry his parents. His mother would pry and his father would be bothered too. Then they'd try to make him feel better, in their own clumsy ways.

But how could he get back the control he so tragically lost? No matter how much he tried to stop his thoughts of wandering off to the blonde, he felt as if he was grasping after straws, his weak hands flailing without much luck at all.It all started slowly, but after his visit over at Narutos apartment, his thoughts of the blonde rapidly increased in quantity, and as he fought to understand the meaning of it all, it had started to invade his dreams as well.  
They weren't necessarily sexual at all (though a couple of them had involved some kissing and touching of a mild sexual nature); most were just Naruto sometimes popping up. But for some reason they all ended with Naruto smiling an incredibly warm and mature smile.  
But why did he pop up at all?

He actually felt a bit anxious. Sasuke never felt anxious. But now he did.

Naruto did something to him, something that he'd never experienced before with anyone. He thought of the blonde almost constantly, and he had gotten the tendency to space out after a while. The spacing out part really disturbed him, as he felt it as a certain loss of control.  
But, no matter what he did, his thoughts kept trailing off to the boy he'd recently befriended.  
Friend… He actually had a real friend, a friend he wanted to have. He loved that part of course. He liked having a friend. Or wait, it wasn't having a friend he liked. What he liked was having _the blonde_ as his friend. The rest didn't matter. He didn't care about getting their friendship, but he truly was fascinated by and attracted to Naruto.

'Wait a minute… Did I just…?' he then thought to himself, 'Noooo, that wasn't what I meant. Not _attracted to_ attracted to, just… wanting to be closer to. Yeah. That sounds right,'

But he suspected deep down that that was a lie too. But he couldn't face it now. How _could_ he be attracted in that certain other way toward Naruto? It was just all so complicated. He wasn't gay. He never looked at other guys and thought anything of them, and he never thought anything of girls either. So why the hell Naruto? He felt terribly confused. A very uneasy feeling came over him; he wasn't ready to look deep enough yet. He didn't want it to be _that_. But there was also no way he could ever object to the fact that he really liked Naruto, and that he was indeed unlike anyone the youngest Uchiha had ever met.  
And the feelings he had around him… They were so different. He, who never blushed at anything before, kept blooming red at the blondes strange, yet interesting and wonderful, behaviour. And he felt an urge to be near him whenever they were together, an urge to just be close. It didn't necessarily mean touch (even if that was a big plus), but just sitting beside one another or across each other, felt so comfortable and peaceful. Like when he'd come over that last weekend. How they'd sat and ate dinner together in his small, cosy apartment, and how they'd battled it out later in Tekken. And then the real life 'battle'… The whole evening had been fun, but he'd also had a few confirmations to his previous suspicions, like wanting to be close to Naruto, the need to know more about him, and just how badly he liked being with him.

But why?

And what did it all mean?

Whenever he felt like he was closing in on the answer, he suddenly felt his heart beat, and the air feeling thinner. He was very anxious indeed.

And therefore, he felt that until he had cold, hard evidence, he wouldn't dig deeper into his mind.  
He didn't think he could if he wanted to either.

And at that last thought, he suddenly realised that his entire class was leaving the auditorium their lecture had been held in. He got up, walked past all the horridly giggling girls in his class whispering exclamations of their love for him to each other, and continued his day.

Even if it would be a bit, well, frightening perhaps, he still really looked forward to when his little revelation would show itself.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Hiyah!"

At nine o'clock in the evening the following Saturday, a very nicely dressed Naruto showed up on the Uchiha mansion doorstep.

"Naruto?" Sasuke replied to his comrades' cheerful greeting. The very slender blonde was dressed jeans with a black and metal belt, an unbuttoned white shirt showing his fresh green, sleeveless t-shirt. He also wore a black cap and black shoes. All in all, Naruto looked-

'HOT!'  
Sasuke felt a blush trying to claim his pale cheeks, and forced it down again.

"I thought I'd just come over, since you don't know where Shikamaru lives! I thought we could go together," he smiled warmly at Sasuke, making him feel (in his own opinion) very, very wrong. How could the blonde possibly be _this_ hot! He looked so mature and sexy, and thinking of it made Sasuke blush madly, despite his massive effort to keep the red shade from claiming his face.

"Yeah, that sounds good," the Uchiha said while looking away with a tired expression on his face, these thoughts were getting tiresome. He let Naruto enter, "Come on in, I'll get dressed so we can leave,"

'Why's he blushing?' Naruto thought to himself as he followed the raven haired boys lead, 'The instance he saw me he blushed and looked away, with that worn out look on his face… Why? I look okay don't I? It's not like my outfit'll embarrass him when we go out, I look nice tonight! … Right?' As the walk through the mansion continued, the blonde boy felt more and more uncertain of himself. It _had_ been some time since the last time he'd went out, and he really did want to look nice… What if Sasuke really didn't want to be seen with him? He'd been uncertain as to what to wear before he left his apartment, but had decided that his current outfit was nice enough, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. And now he also felt terribly vain, thinking about his clothes so much. But… still, why didn't Sasuke like it?

"What's wrong?" Sasuke suddenly stopped, making Naruto, who was so deep in thought he didn't pay attention to his surroundings, crash into him.

"Oouf!" he moaned as he hit his friend, "Ah! Sorry! I-I kinda spaced out for a, um, minute there…" He blushed a bit, feeling a bit embarrassed at his thought and clumsiness.

"What are you thinking so much about? You looked miserable just now," Sasuke asked him. While walking, he'd taken a look back at his blonde friend, only to find a sad expression on his tanned face. He didn't like that. Why was it that most of the time, Naruto looked like the most carefree person in the world, but sometimes, it still seemed as if the blonde had so much sadness inside? He almost never showed it, but sometimes he would let it slip through when he didn't think anyone was watching. Why did such a wonderful person need to look so sad?

"Ahaha, it's nothing! Don't worry about it, I'm fine!" Naruto grinned at his friend, hoping that sounded believable.

"… Okay," of course, Sasuke didn't buy that excuse for a second, but he didn't want to force his friend to talk about something he obviously wanted to keep secret for a while longer, "I'll just get changed, you can wait in my room,"  
He then opened a door, letting Naruto into his bedroom.

"Wow, this is your bedroom? It's as big as my entire apartment!" he stared around the large room. It was very beautiful, but much brighter than he would have thought as well. The walls were a light blue, and at his windows there were white, thin drapes. The room was well-equipped, with a large TV, huge bed, very elegant dresser and several bookshelves. He also had a laptop at a desk between two windows. On one wall, there was another door, and since Sasuke was walking toward that one, he assumed that it was the bathroom.

"Just sit down and make yourself comfortable. If you want, you can watch TV or something. I'll go get ready,"

And with that, Sasuke left the room, and Naruto started looking around. He wanted to know more about his slightly quiet friend, and this would be a nice opportunity.  
He looked through the bookshelves. A lot of books about law and such were placed in one row. On other rows, there were mangas, great classics from around the world and many fictional books Naruto had never seen before. The mangas were probably the biggest surprise to Naruto; he didn't imagine Sasuke as the comic book type at all. He smiled. It was nice to see, really. Sasuke had layers as well, he thought. He was more than what you saw. Very few got to see that, but Naruto got that privilege.  
'I'll make sure he has a fun night!' Naruto thought to himself. Sasuke was so nice; he deserved to have a good time!

"Rummaging through my stuff, are you?" a voice, so close to his ears he could feel its breath, whispered.

"Aaaaarg!" he screamed, almost falling over when turning around to see the owner of that voice.

Sasuke laughed a bit, now standing dressed in black pants and a dark purple shirt next to his friend, "That's what happens when you pay no attention to what's happening around you. People can sneak up on you," he smirked, feeling very pleased with startling the now trembling boy in front of him.

"Oh my God, I thought my heart would stop! That was mean, Sasuke!" he whined back, his hands shaking a bit.

"Wow, I got you that good, huh? You're shaking," he looked at the blondes hands.

"Yeah, meanie," Naruto complained, holding up his trembling hands.

"Sorry," Sasuke said. Hesitating for a moment, he then grabbed Naruto's hands in his own, holding them firmly.

'What?' Naruto felt the warmth from the black eyed boy in his palms and the backs of his hands. The grip was firm and determined, and Naruto blushed a bit. Somehow, physical contact with Sasuke made him feel very different. He was slightly apprehensive, but at the same time it felt… right. 'And he's always so nice and warm…' he thought to himself. But just then, the warmth disappeared.

"There," Sasuke said quietly, "All better now, right?"

Naruto stared at him for a moment, feeling it difficult to let go of those black pools. Finally, he broke the eye contact and looked down at his hands. They weren't shaking anymore.  
His eyes slowly traced up at the Uchiha again, who was now looking at his wristwatch.

"Well then, should we get going? I don't know how far it is to wherever it is we're going," he said, looking back at Naruto again.

The blonde then finally broke out of his own thoughts and replied "Yeah, sure,"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Heeeeeeeeey, there you are!"

At the door of Shikamarus house stood a very drunk Lee.  
At nine thirty they arrived, and were now greeted by Rock Lee at the entrance.

"Hey Lee! They let you drink, huh, so Sakura's here already?" Naruto asked, walking in.

"Yeeeeeah, she's here Narutoo, but what does that have to do with me getting a drink?"

"Nothing Lee, just asking!" Naruto grinned, placing his hand on Lees shoulder, walking in.

Sasuke followed, and as they walked in, Naruto let go of Lee and turned back to him, whispering, "They don't let him drink if Sakura isn't here," he grinned, "He has a crush on her, so she's the only one who can calm him down; he's an angry drunk you see, always picking fights when he drinks alcohol!" He laughed a bit, and Sasuke shook his head.

The two entered the living room where the heart of the party was. A good group of people were sitting on different couches, or just talking to one another everywhere in the room. On a table in the corner stood several bottles of mixed contents, ready to be drunk by the guests. Over at that table stood Gaara and his older brother Kankuro, together with Tenten and Lee, and in one of the sofa sections sat Ino and Sakura gossiping about something or the other, luckily so involved in their conversation they never noticed Sasuke and Naruto entering. On and around the other sofa section (consisting of two different sized sofas) sat Temari, Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba and Neji along with a few people Naruto didn't know who were. Around the rather large room a few groups of other people also sat, none of which Naruto knew very well.  
The two newly arrived guests walked over to where Shikamaru and the rest sat, to greet the host.

"Hey Shikamaru!" Naruto grinned, sitting down on the smaller of the two sofas with Sasuke.

"Hey Naruto!" Shikamaru greeted, smiling at his guests. He obviously had had a drink as well too, and was in a very good mood where he sat next to Temari, "I see you brought your newspaper friend too,"

"Yeah, this is Sasuke, you've probably seen him around school," the blonde grinned.

Sasuke courteously nodded toward the group of people surrounding them, making almost all the girls blush and, to his annoyance, giggle.

'I have a feeling this is going to be a tiresome night…' he thought to himself as the group started talking amongst themselves again.

"Sasuke, want something to drink? Shikamaru bought a lot for this party and it's free to the guests!" Naruto grinned at Sasuke, getting up.

"Yeah sure," he replied, "Should I come with you?"

"Nah, I can get it!" Naruto smiled, "I'll get you something good!" And with that, he left Sasuke in the sofa.

He looked around. The people seemed to be in good spirits, everyone sipping at their respective drinks, having a good time. Some girls were still sneaking peeks at him, which he didn't much appreciate, but at least the music wasn't bad. No pop or 'list-music', just some of Coldplays more happy songs, as of yet. He was actually a bit surprised; he'd have expected the most 'in' music at the time, the ones constantly played on the radio. He seldom liked them, the lyrics were dumb and the movies worse. A person singing and lots of half-naked girls dancing something similar to striptease. But this was nice. Even some anime music, and rock. Not too bad.

"Ah, here you go!" Naruto said when he finally came back to the sofa ten minutes later with two drinks balanced in his hands, "Sorry, Lee wanted to talk. Apparently I'm an incredibly super guy with a delightfully youthful spirit," he laughed.

Sasuke shook his head, "He shouldn't drink if it goes to his head like that, he'll just be embarrassed the day after,"

"Aw, we're young Sasuke! We're supposed to do some dumb stuff like that some times! He doesn't drink often, and as long as Sakura's here, it'll be okay!" he grinned, and Sasuke just had to smile back. He really was cute when he smiled like that. And he had a good point. This was the time they were allowed a few mistakes.  
The blondes views on things were one of the things he liked. The words might seem silly, but the meanings below them were actually not too shabby.

Sasuke then took a sip at his drink, something yellow in colour. It was actually pretty good, with citrus flavour. "Did you really make this?"

"Yup!" Naruto replied while pouring down his own.

"…You're really good when it comes to food and drinks aren't you?" Sasuke then said, "Like the dinner we had at your place last weekend, it was really good,"

Naruto's face lit up, "Really?" he asked excitedly, "Thanks! I like making food, and it's even better when someone else enjoys it too!"

Sasuke smiled back at him. It was so nice to see the little blonde like this; Really happy, with a true and excited smile on his face. He felt that he wanted Naruto to be like this all the time. He deserved to be happy all the time.  
But Sasuke thinking such things; did _that_ mean anything? Again his thoughts drifted off to his dilemma, and the reason he felt so tired even now.

"Ooooooooi, anyone there?"

"What-?" Sasuke finally woke up from his dazed condition.

"I've been trying to get contact for the last minute, you were really spaced out!" Naruto had his hand on Sasuke's cheek, making him look Naruto in the eyes.  
As the young Uchiha realised this, a light pink painted his pale cheeks.

'God, he's so hot,' the two thought to themselves simultaneously. Naruto shook it off the first, though still a bit shocked at his minds choice of adjectives, and continued, "I was talking for a while until I realised you were long gone. What's wrong? You look kinda sleepy,"  
Sasuke felt a bit pathetic at that, not being able to sleep and just spacing out all the time. He'd lost so much self-control, it was downright humiliating. And now even Naruto had noticed!

"I'm fine, I'm a bit tired yes, but it's okay," he replied.

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure Naruto. Now what were you talking about?"

"Ah! Yeah, I was just thinking, you're taking the law studies right? I just realised I never asked why you want to be a lawyer or whatever it is you wanna be," He now sat at the near edge of the sofa, looking excitedly at Sasuke, waiting for the answer.

"Oh… Well, my family owns a big law firm. My mother and father are both lawyers of high calibre, and are known in top circles all over the world for their competence. And I'd like to work in the family firm as well some day, and take over with my brother when our parents retire. It's a very interesting field as well, in my opinion, very active and has a certain importance in the world,"

"Oh, that's so cool! Is that why your family's so loaded with money?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Yeah, they've really earned it. My father took over when my grandfather retired, and he and my mother really made it the massive company it is today. That's why they're so seldom home too, we have chapters and offices in several countries,"

"Wow, that's really something, isn't it… And following in their footsteps, that's so cute!" Naruto said before he could stop himself.

'Cute?' Sasuke thought, 'Did he just indirectly call me cute?' His cheeks heated up a bit; being called cute by the blonde was indeed not too bad at all… But he had no idea as to what to reply. 'Thanks' seemed kind of weird, didn't it?  
Lucky for him, Naruto quickly broke the silence, embarrassed as he was, he felt like that would be a good idea.

"But that's really cool," he said, "I bet you'll be a great lawyer!"

"Thanks," Sasuke replied, "How about you then? Why do you want to animate?"

"Well, my reason isn't as deep and cool as yours is, but I still really want to!" he started, "Frankly, it's 'cos I love videogames! And animated movies, both traditional 2D and the computer 3D. I could do it all, but I figured it would be best to start with 3D and then move on to traditional animation later if I feel like it. I just love the animations in games, especially the little movie clips! Have you ever played Final Fantasy X? Oh, it's just amazing, the way Yuna dances in the beginning, that's the stuff I want to animate! And the Blitzball game at the start! It's so awesome! And other games too, like Shadow Hearts 2, it's amazing, it has so many animation clips, it's soooo good! And I just saw preview clips from FF XIII, I was practically jumping on my chair in the computer lab at school, it's so freakin' good! The game play looks like the movies from the earlier games! It's that good! That's what I wanna make too! Games and animations that are so beautiful you just feel like screaming 'HELL YEAH!' and jump up and down!"

"…Wow," Sasuke then answered as Narutos long rant came to an end, "I'd say you have a passion for it,"

Suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed at his own excitement, Naruto blushed a bit, and scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, guess I kinda do," He laughed nervously a bit.

"But that's really cool too, you know," Sasuke then said, looking away a little, "Having such strong feelings for something is really actually cool too, just because you like it. Not everyone can feel so strongly about something," His eyes landed on Naruto's again.  
"It's a very good quality," he smiled at the blonde, making Naruto's blush stay firm.

He laughed nervously again, and smiled "…Thanks,"

As the two sat chitchatting a bit more, Shikamaru got up on a chair in the living room, and hit his glass softly with a spoon, calling attention to himself.

"Everyone," he started, "Thanks for coming to my party tonight, but now, it's time to get out! Let's hit a club!"

Everyone smiled and a few roared in excitement to his suggestion. The living room quickly emptied, and soon more or less twenty people made their way down the street toward the Konoha clubs in the heart of the city.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

After a bit of wandering around, Shikamaru (aka the birthday boy) found a club playing loud music, and decided it to be a good place to dance. Inside, people scattered around, not too far away from each other. A lot of the girls danced, and a few guys were thereby lured onto the dance floor as well. Others sat down at the bar or around in the near seating areas, to either get a drink or just talk a bit.  
In a corner, Naruto, Sasuke, Kiba and Hinata found a small booth to sit in, after they'd ordered drinks.

"You guys ever been here before?" Naruto asked the three, starting up a conversation.

"No, it's my first time really," Hinata answered first.

"I've been here a couple of times before; it's not too bad really,"

"How about you, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata then asked friendly, wanting no one to be left out.

"No, not in the club, but up stairs they have some banquet halls they rent out I've been at,"

"Oh, on what occasion?" Naruto asked. He was very pleased to see Sasuke actually talking with people, and seemingly having an okay time.

"Our lawfirms meetings with my parents and when our clients have some big party we get invited in,"

"Your parents are lawyers, huh?" Kiba then asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto jumped in eagerly, "They have a big company, with offices all over the world! And Sasuke's studying law too, so he can work there too!"

"Cool, that should be a nice job," Kiba replied, a bit surprised at his blond friends sudden excitement over the Uchiha boy.

"I'll go get our drinks, they're probably done by now," Hinata said, getting up. Next to her, Kiba stood up as well.

"I'll help you, Hinata!"

The two walked off, and Naruto grinned.

"What?" Sasuke asked at the sly smile on his friend.

"I think Kiba has a crush on Hinata!" he smiled wider, "It's so funny, sweet little Hinata-chan has made Kiba all polite and stuff!"

"Really? Well, good for them I guess," Sasuke replied dryly.

"What's 'a matter, Sasuke? Aren't you a romantic?" Naruto looked up at the boy next to him with curious eyes.

"Don't think so, no,"

"Really? I think anyone can be a bit of a romantic, as long as they find the right person to be it with," Naruto said, looking around the room, "At least a bit romantic, not necessarily all mushy and sappy romantic, that's probably only the case for a few,"

"…Maybe you're right," Sasuke then replied. It could be, he figured. Just depends what you call romantic and whom it's with…

"Hey, later on, if we're still with them, how about we leave the two of them alone?" Naruto said, "I wanna give Kiba a chance to get some one-on-one time with her,"

"Yeah, sure," Sasuke answered, "Doesn't really matter to me,"

"Thanks, Sasuke,"

"No problem," He smiled. 'Just too cute,'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A minute later, Hinata and Kiba returned to the booth carrying two very large drinks each.

"Whoa, why are they so huge?" Naruto asked, shocked by the volume of the drinks.

"It's happy hour or something, every drink is double the volume," Kiba answered him.

The four sat down with their drinks and talked. As the night went on, more drinks were ordered, and after a while, three of them were getting a bit affected by the alcohol.  
As they continued talking, the alcohols effect on the three surrounding him became barely visible to Sasuke. He himself didn't get easily effect of drinking, and he'd also had fewer drinks than the rest.  
Kiba kept staring at Hinata. Hinata was in a very good mood, smiling and being very talkative, and as was Naruto, who was all smiles. He also seemed a bit dizzy, even when sitting. Sasuke found this a bit amusing, but only because he was there to keep an eye on the blonde. He didn't want anything to happen to him after all.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto half whispered at him after a while, "Lets go! Kiba should have enough guts to talk to her a bit now with all that alcohol in his system," he grinned.

He got up, and Sasuke got up with him.

"We're going to go find Shikamaru," Naruto lied, "See you guys later! It's been a fun night!"

"You're leaving?" Hinata asked, "Well, bye then! Take care!"

"G' night Naruto!" Kiba yelled, as the two walked away.

"So!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at Sasuke, "What do you want to do now?"

"It's not important, anything's fine," he replied. He was a bit tired, but if Naruto was having fun, he saw no reason to leave. But no more alcohol for him, that was for sure.

"Wanna get something to eat then? I'm gettin' kinda hungry,"

"Yeah, sure," Sasuke said, and the two left the club.

A while later they were both eating hamburgers and French fries, walking down the streets.

"Let's go to my apartment! We could play some Tekken or something!" he said, smiling.

"Well, I don't know about playing Tekken," Sasuke replied dryly.

"Aw, come on!" Naruto whined, pouting cutely, "Something else then! I want some company,"

"Fine, fine," Sasuke then answered, smiling a bit. After all, even if he did have to play some videogames, he still got to hang out with the blonde.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Ten minutes later, they had arrived at Narutos apartment, now finished eating.

"Want something to drink?" Naruto asked, walking over to his small kitchen nook.

"Sure, water would be nice," Sasuke replied.

As Naruto had finished pouring the two glasses, he walked over to Sasuke. On his way, he saw himself in the mirror on his wall, and was reminded of how he'd been worried before that day.  
'I do look awful, don't I…' he sulked, pulling his white shirt off as he sat down on his bed with Sasuke.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke then asked, "You have that sad face again,"

"Well, I just… Oh, forget it, it's stupid," the slightly dizzy Naruto said, lying down from his sitting position on the edge of the bed.

"Come on; just tell me so I don't have to nag,"

"No,"

"Naruto,"

"Fine, fine," the blonde then agreed, "It's just that, today, when I came to get you, you looked like you thought I was dressed really bad," he quietly said, "like if we went out, I'd embarrass you…"  
Sasuke just stared down at him. How did he get to that conclusion? Was he really that unsure of himself?

"…Am I embarrassing to be seen with? Be honest, please…" Naruto was laying there, arms covering his face, looking absolutely miserable.

"…Of course not," Sasuke sat further back, next to Narutos head, and pulled his arms away, "I would never be,"

He now looked straight into the blondes eyes. They were a bit red, water collected in the edges, but not falling down.

"Don't ever think that way again. You're my friend. I really like being with you, and I'd never be embarrassed,"

"…But why did you act so weird then?"

"…Fine, I'll tell you, if that's what it takes to cheer you up," he began. Blushing a bit, he looked away and continued "It was because you looked good, that's why. You seem… _mature_ in clothes like that,"  
Sasuke was now blushing furiously. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He'd just admitted he'd thought Naruto was so good looking it'd made him freakin' blush!

"…Really?" Naruto lifted his arms up around Sasuke's neck, and pulled his head down, so he could look into his eyes. Sasuke could feel the blondes nimble fingers run softly through his hair.

"…" Sasuke kept blushing furiously, feeling a number of things at the same time. But one little sentence kept repeating itself in his head, slowly becoming louder and louder. It was very low at first, and Sasuke didn't understand it, but…

"Sasuke… you're… always, always so nice to me…"

With his slender, naked arms, Naruto pulled the black eyed boy closer and closer, until their foreheads collided softly. His eyes showed confusion and peacefulness at the same time.

"Thank you…"

And with that, he pulled him down, and their lips met in a soft kiss.

Sasuke was overwhelmed. His heart was racing, yet time seemed to stay still for a moment as their lips touched.  
He could feel Narutos soft, warm lips on his own, and his silky, yet unruly hair brushing Sasukes pale forehead.

At the moment the kiss ended, and Naruto let Sasuke go, the silent words the raven-haired boy had heard whispered in his mind finally broke through, drowning out all other thoughts.

'I'm in love with him!'

And as that light flared up in his previously ignorant mind, there was something he had to do.

As Naruto blinked his eyes, Sasuke cupped his chin and kissed him back, madly needing more of the blonde as he realised his feelings for him.  
Narutos eyes shot up, staring at the boy kissing him hungrily.

'Sasuke?' he thought as the boy softly forced his mouth open to slide his tongue in. He was incredibly nervous now, but he didn't want to shut him out, a longing he had never felt before burned in his chest, and he wanted to just hold on to the boy now kissing him.

The kiss was deep and hungry, both of them wanting to feel as much as possible of the other, pressing their tongues against each other and searching the others mouth. Naruto moved his hands around Sasuke's neck again, pulling him even closer. As Naruto pressed himself up towards Sasuke, the raven-haired boy slipped his hands around his waist, pulling the blondes body toward him, wanting to feel it next to his own.

'He's kissing me back…' Sasuke thought to himself, very shocked, and happy beyond belief. He wouldn't have imagined that the blonde would be this eager. Even if he did kiss Sasuke the moment before, that was still different. This was a longing kiss, a hungry one, not a soft and tender meeting of the lips. The feelings attached were different, and Sasuke savoured every second of it.

When it finally ended a minute later, both boys were panting slightly. Sasuke still held Naruto in his arms, resting his forehead on the blondes own, their noses touching gently.  
The two just sat there, relishing the closeness to the other.

After a while, Sasuke tilted his head to get a better look at Naruto's face. His eyes were now closed, and a small peaceful smile graced his beautiful features.

'He's so wonderful…' Sasuke thought to himself, 'I can't believe I didn't realise how I felt for him until now. It's still a bit confusing alright, but at least I know what I really feel for him…'  
He let one of his hands stroke the blondes cheek, 'He must've fallen asleep. No wonder, seeing how much he works… School is demanding, and he needs money for a living too,'

He smiled at the boy in his arms, 'He's so much stronger than he thinks he is… I've got to make him see that,'

Naruto seemed so strong, and yet so frail at times. He seemed to have some deep insecurities about himself, and Sasuke wanted to get rid of those. Such an amazing person shouldn't be insecure of himself, he was perfect as he was.

No one was like him.

And Sasuke felt this way only for Naruto.

He'd realised it when the boy had kissed him. The answer to his questions he'd been trying to avoid for over a week now. But now he knew he could never pretend not to know, he felt so much for the blonde, and hoped silently that one day the blonde would feel the same for him. He didn't think he felt that way now, even if they had kissed… At least he didn't dare hope too much, in case he really didn't.

But, even now, he longed for him.

For Naruto…

…

Sasuke picked Naruto up, and laid him comfortably on his bed. He pulled a thin cover over the slender body of the blonde. He hesitated for a moment, and then quickly bent down to place a very soft kiss on Narutos right cheek. Walking toward the door, he smiled to himself.

'Tonight really wasn't so bad…'

Turning off the lights, he left the apartment and went home to get a good nights sleep for the first time in a week.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N : **Hey everyone!

:D

Yay, new chappie up already! (next will probably take some more time to get up, as I need to do my animation assignment now... Ugh, it's so big...)

But before I forget yet again, thank you to my Beta, Myst-chan! (she's beta'd every chapter except one, and I keep forgetting to thank her in my A/N. Really sorry, I'm such a ditz T.T )

Thank you for all the nice reviews I got for the last chapter, I was half expecting hatemail for that one, I thought no one would like it at all. Thank you again for being so nice to me :D

And I'm sorry if there are a couple of comments I didn't reply to, I lost track of which I'd replied to, 'cos dumb little me read them in gmail, and therefore got 'em all mixed up... sorry, I'll reply to everyone I get (if I get any that is :) ) this time. I really aprreciate getting them, so it kinda bummed me out when I couldn't figure out which I'd answered... Sorry, hope you can forgive another one of my ditzy tendencies...

Hope this chapter was a bit more pleasing than the last, I like it anyway! Finally Sasuke gets his thought and feelings sorted out! But how about Naruto...:D muahaha

And lordie, this chapter is looooong, over seven pages in Word (lettersize 10, and little spacing) brag brag brag, ehehe, sorry, I guess I'm just a bit proud :D;;;

Think I covered it all this time!

So until next time, lots and lots of love from P.Peachy :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Sasukeh-!"

Naruto was sitting up on his bed, panting. Just awoken from his slumber, he looked around.  
'It's morning…' he thought to himself, rubbing his eyes, 'Ugh, I'm so tired,'  
He let himself lie down on his pillow again. His body felt heavy. Not only had he had the weirdest dream, but he'd also been up really late. At least too late to be able get up at eight in the morning.

He closed his eyes, thinking.

But-  
That dream.  
…  
No, wait… Was it _all_ a dream?  
No, actually, that one part…  
…  
……

"Oh my GOD!" he suddenly exclaimed, getting up to a sitting position again, "I kissed him!"

As it all came back to him, he blushed furiously, hands in his hair, feeling like an absolute moron. What on earth would Sasuke think of him now? He'd freakin' kissed a guy! And that guy, oh no, what if Sasuke thought he was in love with him? That _is_ usually the reason people kiss other people after all. He could have ruined their friendship! What if Sasuke would feel uncomfortable around him from now on?  
'But, hey…' he then remembered what had happened after he'd kissed his friend, 'He-'

And again, he turned a deep red. Sasuke… He'd actually, he'd really kissed him back after that! And if his memory wasn't playing mean tricks on him, that kiss had been much less 'innocent' than Naruto's peck on the lips…

His hand found its way up to his lips and touched them. That kiss… Why had Sasuke kissed him back like that? And more importantly, why did Naruto now feel a longing for it?

He felt very uneasy, and at the same time exited.

The reason Naruto himself had kissed Sasuke to begin with was a number of things. First off, he'd been slightly intoxicated, and had therefore lost some of his usual boundary-placing abilities. And second, he'd wanted to. The latter was the most disturbing one.He'd really wanted to, and also, like the time when he'd hugged Sasuke in the Uchihas kitchen, it just really felt like the only way he could think of that could show Sasuke how grateful he was. How grateful he was of his words and actions, and also of Sasuke himself.

But, oh, how embarrassed he was for kissing him. He felt absolutely mortified of his own melodramatic behaviour, getting so upset over clothes, of all things.  
Well, okay, maybe it wasn't the clothes he was so upset about, but in his mind, it all sounded so silly when he replayed the conversation they had that led up to the kissing.

Still, Sasuke always managed to make Naruto feel better about himself, he made him feel like someone cared, and like he was worth caring for… Even this made him feel silly, thinking about lame stuff like that. But he couldn't deny that that was exactly what Sasuke did; He made him feel good about himself. And made him feel good. Sasuke was always so much fun to be with, even when they were working, the little talks they had always cheered Naruto up, making him see the day as a bit brighter.

Sasuke was a good friend.

But why did he want to kiss that friend last night? And why _did_ he kiss him? Naruto shook his head tiredly. People didn't go around kissing their friends just because they comforted them. Hug, okay, but kiss? No, and especially not when you're both guys.

But…  
It felt… Good.

He set his focus to Sasuke and how the raven had kissed Naruto back with such passion and force after the blonde had caught the other boys lips the first time.

It was… very, very weird.  
It had simply felt too good.  
Naruto could even now recall and feel the desire he felt the night before as Sasuke's tongue had found its way into his mouth. He remembered vividly how he'd pressed back, eager for the kiss, just like the raven-haired boy had been.

But why the hell had it felt so good?! How could it possibly be like that? What the hell happened anyway?!  
As Naruto thought of the reasons behind the passionate kiss, his head felt like it would explode. It was too close. Again, Sasuke came so near it scared him to death. How could they keep getting closer like this?

He felt like he was losing control.

But… Terrifying and unsettling as it may be…  
He kinda… wanted it.

Yet again he shook his head, blushing. He didn't have time to think more about this, he needed to get to work. Today was autumn-cleaning at the bakery, and he wanted to get it done quickly to get some relaxation before a new week began.  
However, as he walked over toward his bathroom door, he spotted from the side of his eye, a note hanging on the fridge.  
Immediately, he froze up.  
The only one who could've done it was… Sasuke, last night… No one else had been in his apartment.

'Noooooo!' his mind screamed, 'No no no, why'd he leave a note?' He walked over to where the tiny apple shaped post-it note was hanging, with small and neat handwriting on it. He felt a sweat drop slid down his neck, nervous as to find out what the note said. He felt terribly embarrassed, and hadn't expected to hear anything from the boy he'd kissed so soon.

Trembling just a little, he reached out his hand, and grabbed the note.

'_Naruto_

_Sorry to just leave without saying anything, but I didn't want to disturb you when you were sleeping.  
Call me later today, okay? We still haven't finished the project for the school paper, remember? So we should make some plans for this week, it's due Monday a week from now._

_Hope you had a good nights sleep  
Sasuke'_

Naruto blushed. 'Good nights sleep… I can't tell if he's messing with me or actually means it,'  
He smiled. Sasuke seemed to be okay. No weirdness, just acting like he always did. And Naruto felt grateful for that, he wouldn't have been able to face the Uchiha at school if he'd seemed to be as embarrassed as Naruto were now. It still wouldn't be easy to face him, but at least Sasuke made it less awkward. He always did that, didn't he? Make things more comfortable and better.

However…  
Calling him… didn't exactly tempt the blonde right now. He was just too embarrassed, and didn't know what to say to the other boy.

'Maybe later tonight,'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Around noon that same day, an unusually bright and awake Sasuke walked out of his room, heading for the kitchen on the first floor of the Uchiha mansion. Finally having slept the whole night through for the first time in over a week, the youngest of the family felt very refreshed and calm. He wasn't tired like he'd been the last week, and his body felt light at the thought of the night before.  
Had it not been for his stubborn Uchiha pride, he'd be singing the blondes name in a cheerful way.  
Not allowing himself such immatureness, he settled for a small smile gracing his lips, and let the image of his best friend sit in his mind.

"Sweetie!" a slightly high-pitched voice rang through the hall, making Sasuke flinch just a bit. Knowing what would come after such a cheerful welcome, he braced himself as a very beautiful dark haired woman hugged him, practically squeezing the air out of his slender body.

"Hi mom," he replied as steady as he could, almost out of breath, "How are you today?" he asked politely as she let go and patted his head.

"Oh, just wonderful," she said, smiling warmly, "I'm so happy to see that you've cheered up! Your father and I were starting to worry… My, you're so tall, it never seizes to amaze me how two tall boys like you came from little me. You're almost as tall as your brother and father,"  
She looked at him for a moment. He was a few inches taller than her, but at this age she doubted he'd grow more. But that was really just as well, he was more slender than the two, and his height fit his shape.  
She smiled again; he'd always be her little boy, even if he was growing into a man right before her eyes.

"So, how long are you and father staying in town? I heard from Itachi that the main department in Europe needed some help," Sasuke said, breaking his mother away from her wandering thoughts.

"Oh, we'll stay a couple of weeks more, they can handle things for now," she smiled as the two continued walking down the hall toward the stairs that lead to the first floor, "But, on to more important things, I heard from your brother that you actually had a friend over a few times in these last weeks!"

Sasuke froze up a bit, and a slight blush tainted his cheeks, 'Damn that idiot,' he thought to himself. He really didn't want to discuss these kinds of things, like friends, with his mother, she'd always get overly excited and be a tad annoying, wanting to pry into his business.

"I was so surprised!" she continued, "You almost never let anyone you know come over to our house, and then I heard that this person had been here not only once, but several times! I'm so glad; it's nice to see you be social other than in business parties and meetings,"

"…" Sasuke merely kept silent, hoping she'd drop it soon.

"So, who is this person? Oh my! Could it be a girlfriend? Oh my how exciting! We should invite her over-"

"No, no, no, it's not like that. I do not have a girlfriend. It's a friend, yes, but he's a guy," he finally stopped her.

"Well!" she then said, slightly surprised, "Is it a _boyfriend_ then?"

Blushing furiously, Sasuke turned toward her, "Mother!" he shook his head tiredly, "He's a friend okay? We work on stuff for the school news paper together and have hung out a few times. Don't get carried away, please,"

"Well, you should introduce him to us the next time he comes over, sweetie, we'd love to meet him, it's so seldom to see you enjoy the company of another person. And obviously you do enjoy his company, since you do seem to spend time with this boy,"  
Still a bit embarrassed, Sasuke merely kept quiet. He did enjoy spending time with the blonde, and didn't see the point in lying about it. That would feel a bit disrespectful toward Naruto, he thought to himself.

"So what's his name?" his mother asked warmly, smiling up at her youngest son.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied as they entered the kitchen.

"Be sure to introduce us when he comes over next time, I'm looking forward to it," she smiled and walked over to the stove, "Want some lunch sweetie? Or breakfast in your case," she added, laughing a bit, "I know your old now, but a mother likes to care for her kids. What do you think?"  
Nodding with a small smile, Sasuke watched as his always energetic mother started whipping up some food.  
He didn't really want Naruto to meet his parents, his mother being very energetic and perky, and his father big, proud and stern. And his brother a perv and tease.

Ah well, Naruto was just so wonderful, he'd probably be adorable when he met them, all shy and cute as always.  
Unconsciously, he smiled warmly where he sat, his gaze all spaced out. From the corner of her eye, his mother saw this rare event, and in a mix between shock and joy she almost had to laugh.  
Focusing on the food again, she smiled to herself.

'He must be special!'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A day later, Naruto was sitting in the cafeteria, chewing on a piece of chocolate cake.  
His mind was filled with worries and excitement, and he felt like an idiot because of it. He was worried, he hadn't dared call Sasuke the day before, and he was now nervous. Not only because maybe Sasuke would be upset, but also just about meeting him. And still, he was a bit excited too, because he did want to meet him, and he was also curious as to how he'd act. And all of these emotions made him feel like an idiot. It was all so stupid in his point of view.

Absorbed in his own issues, he didn't even notice Sakura until she had sat down beside him at his table in the corner, waving her hand in front of his face.

"Wuh?" he snapped out of his deep thoughts and looked at her, "Sakura chan?"

"Naruto! I've been trying to get contact with you for half a minute now! What are you so absorbed with anyways?" she asked, sighing.

'Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush,' he thought to himself, fighting to stay calm. He knew she'd want to talk about Sasuke, and right now, Naruto didn't feel like discussing him with her, seeing what happened two days ago. Why did Sakura have to be the one to come up at a time like this? 'Damn, she can be so annoying sometimes,' he thought irritated to himself, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Nothing, just spacing out," he said looking away from her. Needing a new injection of sugar, he ate some more cake.

"Okay…" she replied. Naruto seemed uncommonly irritated today. Usually, he'd always be cheerful towards her, and today he seemed annoyed. She couldn't remember that ever happening before.

"Well, anyway, Naruto, I wanted to get my update! It's been a while now since last time, and I want to hear some more! How is Sasuke doing?"

Internally sighing, Naruto turned toward Sakura again, his mood worsening by the second. Why did Sakura make him do something like that? It just wasn't fair.

"He's good," Naruto said.

"Ah! And I can't believe I didn't see you two at Shikamarus party this weekend! I can't believe it, it was a golden opportunity to get to talk to Sasuke, but I didn't know he was there until you two had left the club we were at. I thought I'd scream, such a good chance gone to waste." She shook her head, "But where did the two of you go afterwards anyway? It wasn't that late,"

The blush he'd managed to keep away a moment ago now bloomed back, and he felt a bit of panic take over his mind.  
'Nooooo, no, no, no, don't ask about _that_! How the hell am I going to get away from this without my idiot mouth managing to blurt out something?!'

"Uh… well, um, we got some food, hungry, you see," he managed to say while trying his best to not reveal anything.

'Why is that idiot blushing so much lately whenever we talk about Sasuke?' Sakura thought to herself, watching the blond stuff more of the chocolate cake into his mouth.

"And after that?" she asked, looking Naruto over carefully. She noticed that he flinched for a fraction of a second as she asked the question.

"W-we just went home! To our respective homes, that is!" Naruto said, cursing his horrible ability to lie, "Nothing else!"

"…Oh?" Sakura then said, "You seem kind of weird… Are you sure you're telling me everything?"

Naruto felt a tiny drop of sweat slither its way down the back of his neck. How was he supposed to reply to that?

"You promised to be my Sasuke-spy, Naruto! You promised!"

Feeling bitterness take over his chest, he looked down at the table, feeling guilty for not telling the truth and bitter and angry at Sakura, for using him like she did. He was her friend. How could she do this to him? She knew very well that he didn't want to do it, and she must have noticed that he didn't like to do it when she asked for reports.  
He felt a wave of sadness and anger overwhelm him, as he felt as a bad best friend for Sasuke and felt exploited by one of the people he had known since forever, who he'd been in love with and who he'd helped whenever she needed it.

Wait a minute…  
'When did that become past tense…?'

But the feeling of betrayal was too strong to let him be diverted, and to his own surprise, he said silently with a voice cold as ice "_How could you make me…?_"

Sakura stared at him with shock in her eyes, and Naruto closed his eyes. He hated this. He hated making her seem sad, even if she was exploiting him, and he hated feeling like such a bastard toward Sasuke. And it really hurt. He knew Sasuke would be horribly angry if he found out, and maybe not even forgive him at all. And now, he feared he might loose Sakura too. Even if it was initially her fault for exploiting him, he still felt like the blame in the end was to be lain on him.

"Naruto?"

Both Sakura and Naruto flinched, as Sasuke suddenly stood behind them.  
'Oh, God… Please, don't let him have heard what Sakura said, please, please, please!' Naruto felt panic climb into him again, and the air felt as if it was being squeezed out of him.

'Please, I don't want to lose him now…!'

"What's wrong? You look pale," Sasuke finally said after looking at the two strangely acting people before him.  
His gaze locked onto Naruto, and he stared into the blondes blue eyes with a worried expression on his face.

'_He-he didn't…?'_ Naruto dared to hope as he answered "I-I'm fine, Sasuke,"  
Caught in the Uchihas dark eyes, he felt himself calm down.

"You didn't call yesterday, so I thought I'd find you to decide on when we could work on the assignment," he said, still not tearing his eyes away. Now that he'd sorted out his feelings, he wanted all the contact he could get with the blonde, and his eyes were so amazingly blue he just felt like looking into them for hours on end.

"Ah, haha, sorry, I-I planned to do it in the evening, but I guess I kinda forgot," Naruto said, guiltily allowing himself a small well-told white lie. He blushed a little at the intensity emanating from Sasuke as he remembered the events of the weekend before. But Sasuke, he didn't seem bothered about it, even now! Mentally thanking his friend, Naruto smiled apologetically.

"Well, when do you want to do it then?" Sasuke then asked, still gazing at the slender and appealing boy in front of him. A small blush threatened to claim his cheeks for a moment as he felt an urge to just grab hold of Naruto and repeat the kiss he'd given him that last Saturday night.

"Um, well, I'll have to check with my boss when I'm working, so could I call you later tonight, After work?"

"Sure, but remember it today, okay?" Sasuke said, smirking a bit.

"I will, I will, don't worry," Naruto said, smiling back.

Sasuke then waved his goodbye and left Naruto and Sakura, who had watched the whole conversation from the sidelines.  
Watching her blonde friend, Sakura frowned angrily as he stared after Sasuke and waved as the Uchiha turned around to look at them before leaving the cafeteria. To her surprise, the usually cold Sasuke actually waved back, and she could have sworn she saw him _smile_.

…

……

'_Naruto… I'm starting to think I'm not the one you want the most anymore…'_

'_And I think the one you look so intensely at wants you, back'_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N : **Hi everyone :D

So, finally a new chapter is up. Sorry it took so long, but at least I got my homework done! Animation is FUN (but unfortunately, writing reports isn't)

Hope you liked this chappie as well! It's slowly getting a bit more exciting! Beware for the future chapters, muahaha XD

I have plans, so expect more in not too much time.

This was a lot shorter than the last chapter, but that was monstrously long, so I hope it's okay.

As always, I would love reviews, they help me in many ways, like inspiration and encouragement and helpful critique! So I would love to hear what you have to say :D

And again, thank you sooooo much for the many reviews I got for the last chapter! They were so nice, and I am very very appreciative for each of them :D Thank you very much for taking some of your time to write a note to this silly little wannabe author. It makes my day when I get one of those nice reviews :D

Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

As always, 'til next time, lots and lots and lots of love from P.Peachy X3

**PS:**

Let me know if anyone wants to see some of my sasunaru pics and I'll hurry and post them on my deviantart account (like naruto in his party clothes and some sasunaru stuff). I work a bit slowly with my drawings, but if people are interested in it, I could try to speed things up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Here you go! That'll be two dollars,"

"Ah yes, there,"

As this little exchange of words and money took place, it was an early Saturday morning in the Corner Café and Bakery where Naruto worked. Cheerful as always, the blonde was doing his job well. He might drop a bun or bread from time to time, but except for his clumsiness, he was doing a very good job.  
Today, an unusual amount of buns and pastry seemed to find its way to the floor, as the blue eyed boy felt his thoughts drift off whenever they got the chance.  
But that was how it'd been for some time now, and his boss had even grown so used to it over the last one week that he didn't even scold him or yell.

"Whoops! Oh, er, um, sorry! I'll get you a new one on the house," Naruto smiled at the customer sitting at one of the Bakeries tables. As he was about to place the plate with the delicious looking strawberry cheesecake on the table, he'd dropped the whole thing, making a nice splatter on the floor.  
'Focus, dammit, focus! You're working, don't space out like that!' he mentally scolded himself as he delivered the new cheesecake to the woman. Wiping up his mess quickly, he returned to behind the cash register.

And there he drifted off yet again,  
He just had a lot to think about, too much really. And he just couldn't _stop_ thinking about it. He had gotten over the initial shock and fright of the kiss he had shared with Sasuke some time ago by now, but it still could mess him up a bit. Even if he wasn't quite as scared, it still made him blush each time he thought about it. But, still it was progress in his opinion, forever the optimist. He had admitted to himself that, indeed, it did feel very, _very_ good. Then the issue had been what that meant. They had worked on their school paper assignment a couple of days before, and when they sat in the cafeteria at school the last Tuesday and Thursday, just talking about stuff it'd been so nice. For now, he was satisfied and very happy, as long as he got to spend some time with his new best friend.

Still, his feelings and what they meant, was still a subject he wasn't all clear on. And this was what kept him so preoccupied all the time the last week.

He had his suspicions, but whenever he thought of them, he would just dismiss it, laughing at himself for imagining such silly things; such silly things as liking Sasuke a certain way… He reminded himself not to jump to conclusions, and blushed a bit. The week had been filled with much blushing as this little circle seemed to repeat itself over and over again.

Thinking about Sasuke, and then the kiss. Admitting the kiss was good, and therefore blushing.  
Then, thinking of Sasuke again, and how much fun it was to be with him.  
That led to his wondering why it all felt so good, and then arriving at the suspicion and blushing yet again as he dismissed it.

And as soon as the first round of thoughts finished, he would pay attention to his surroundings for a moment.  
And about ten minutes later, he'd be back at where he started again. Thinking about his best friend and the kisses they'd shared.

As a new group of customers finished their breakfast and left, he got over and cleaned the table, involuntarily letting his mind start this seemingly never ending thought process yet again.

'It really did feel good… I still can't believe that second kiss, it was so intense… Even now, a week later, I can almost taste him,'  
And that was the best part of it. He enjoyed this thinking too, to a certain degree. Whenever he now thought of that fateful Saturday, he could taste Sasuke. It was very hard to describe, even if they had eaten burgers just a little while before there was still this definite taste of _him; _Of Sasuke.  
As he thought this, he unconsciously let his index finger find its way to his lips, touching the bottom lip gently, as if clinging to the sensation other boy had left there a week ago.

As Naruto stood in deep thought next to the table he was supposed to be cleaning, with a finger on his lips and with a gaze staring into nothing but his own mind, he paid little attention to his surroundings, and a tall figure closed in on him. Still he didn't budge or react, absorbed in his own dilemmas and reminiscence.

A hand reached out to him, and the tall figure bent forward just a little.  
Suddenly, the lost Naruto could feel his chin being cupped at the far side of the figure he now realised stood beside him, and as he felt the soft and warm sensation on his skin, a soft voice close to his ear said "Hey,"

"Ah…!" As Naruto felt all this, right when he'd thought so much about the kiss with a certain raven haired boy, he felt his legs give in as he was turned toward Sasuke, who had his chin in his hand and swiftly caught Naruto as he fell, with his other hand.

Major emotion and sensation overload came over the poor little blonde.

With a slightly glazed gaze, he looked up at the handsome boy holding him, and realised the full situation.  
And the desire to kiss the Uchiha bloomed back up to the same force it had had just a week ago. He blushed deeply, gasped and placed his hands over his mouth.

Again, the warmth and closeness to the Uchiha boy was overwhelming, and he struggled to keep his mind straight, as Sasuke smiled down at him, obviously amused by the blonde in his arms.

"Sa-Sasuke!" he finally managed to utter, trying slowly to get his feet stable again, "Ah, you keep startling me! You enjoy messing with me like this, don't you? Oh my God, I almost fell over,"

"Good thing I caught you then, huh?" Sasuke smirked, looking into Naruto's blue eyes. That slightly smirking smile along with those intense eyes was beginning to look very hot to the blonde by now, and he laughed nervously as he was released from the Uchiha's hands.

"What were you thinking about anyways? You were totally spaced out," Sasuke said as Naruto sat down on a chair. He followed his lead and sat down next to him.

"Wh-Whahaha, oh, um, nothing! Never mind that, just some silly stuff, you know me" he rambled, blushing again, "But what are you doing here, where I work, anyway?" He collected himself again, calming down a bit as he changed the subject.

"Nothing much, just wanted to see you," Sasuke said, smiling warmly at Naruto.

'Wanted to see me…?'  
Naruto looked down a moment, the retreating blush blooming back up. Sasuke had come all the way here just to see him?

"Heh," he fiddled with his hands, "That's actually kinda… well, sweet, really!" he smiled back at Sasuke, who felt very happy at this reply. He wanted the blonde to notice him, and was very glad that he'd interpreted his coming there in that way.  
He really did want to see him…

"When did you start doing stuff like that, huh?" Naruto asked humorously, "Not that I'm complaining; it's nice to see you too,"

The smile he was now given, made Sasuke feel completely at ease, and very happy. That warm, genuine and loving smile was what he most wanted to see his best friend giving him. The one that said he was happy to see him, the one that said so openly that he liked having Sasuke around. It was nice…  
But still…  
There was one expression he now felt a longing for, which he was afraid he'd never be given. The eyes and expression of someone looking at the person they love.

But he could hope.  
And he could try to make the blonde realise his feelings for him. Without pushing him of course.

For the chance of receiving the blondes love, if it was there, it was worth the chance of getting heartbroken if he should be turned down when the day of revelation came.  
He wanted Naruto.  
And hopefully, he'd be wanted back.

"Actually," Sasuke finally said, "I was just wondering if you wanted to come over later tonight,"

"What?" Naruto replied, "I thought we'd finished our assignments for the paper by now? Did we get a new one already?"

"No, we didn't," Sasuke looked at Naruto, and the blonde could have sworn he saw a very faint pink on his cheeks, "I just thought we'd hang out, that's all. But don't worry; it wasn't an order or anything, so if you don't want to-"

"Ah, no, no, no, I want to!" Naruto hurriedly replied, grinning, "Sounds like fun! I'd love to come over!" he scratched the back of his head and laughed a bit. He smiled at Sasuke. "So, when can I come over, then?"

"Whenever you want really, I'll be heading home soon, and it's still early, so you don't have to hurry or anything. You can just come when you feel like it. If you call first, I can come get you, so you won't have to walk," Sasuke said, feeling his heart ease. He'd been worried for a moment that Naruto wouldn't want to, but he seemed to honestly look forward to it.

"Okay, I'll just come over when I'm finished here then, I guess," he looked at his watch, "Aw, man, I have to stay here till seven at least," he whined. That would mean there was a good nine hours more at work.

"Wow, you mean to tell me you're working a ten hour day today?" Sasuke was surprised, he knew that Naruto worked a lot to have enough money for rent, but he wouldn't have imagined this much!

"Ah, well, I have to save up for a laptop, so I kinda have to!" he said, smiling awkwardly. He then saw the worried expression on Sasuke's face, and hurriedly added "But, don't worry about me, I can be very effective when I have to, so I'm able to keep up in school,"

"…Well, be careful. If you push yourself to hard, you'll get sick. Winter is coming, you know,"

"I will Sasuke," Naruto said, and gave a small giggle. It was funny how Sasuke could sometimes be all motherly. He was a very caring person, and sometimes Naruto just couldn't avoid seeing how sweet he was.

"Well, I'll leave you to your job now, so your boss doesn't get upset," Sasuke stood up, "I have to run some errands anyway,"  
Naruto got up as well, and followed Sasuke to the door, "Okay. Talk to you later then! I can't wait to come over!"

Naruto smiled at the boy in front of him, making Sasuke feel an urge yet again to kiss him goodbye.  
'Even just a peck on the cheek would be great to give him right now…' he thought to himself, staring at the slightly shorter blonde. It was tempting…

Naruto hadn't seemed to try to push him off whenever something happened, like how he'd greeted him that day. That was a good sign. If he didn't want it, wouldn't he have been upset? Told Sasuke to back off? But he didn't… Still, Sasuke didn't want to push him, he could end up just making Naruto uncomfortable.

Deciding it best not to do anything right now, Sasuke sighed.  
'Ah well, I'm just happy he's coming over tonight. I'll get to spend time with him,' he thought to himself.

As they said their goodbyes, he walked out of the Corner Café and Bakery, leaving a very excited blonde to his job again.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Hoy, kid,"

"What is it, boss?"  
Naruto was in the back, cleaning the floor as his boss came walking in.

"Take the rest of the day off,"

"You know I can't do that, I need the money, boss! I can stay an hour and a half more; it's not long 'til closing time,"

"Listen kid, you've worked so much these past days, I'll give 'ya a little bonus; that hour and a half is free of work this time,"

"Wha-? Really?"

"Yeah, sure. I overheard you and your friend planning on some fun today, and you need to have fun if you're going to be effective at work next week too! But I expect that sloppiness from this week to be gone then, okay?"

"Wow, thanks boss!" Naruto grinned, "I'll be really efficient next week, promise!"  
Hanging his apron in a small closet, he picked up his belongings and walked toward the door, "Bye, see you Monday!"

Waving back, the old man shook his head. That kid was the best thing he could have in his shop. The customers liked him, he was always cheerful, and even if he could make a few mistakes, he would always do his best.  
Getting back to the register, he saw Naruto cross the street as he ran toward his home with a big grin on his face.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

An hour later, Naruto had arrived at the street of the Uchiha mansion.  
He didn't want to bother Sasuke by calling him to get picked up, so he'd simply walked over when he'd finished his shower after work. He didn't think it'd take him half an hour to get there, but at least he was almost there.

He was very exited. He didn't expect Sasuke to come over to the bakery just to invite him to come visit him. But he was happy he did, that meant Sasuke wanted to spend time with him, and he wanted to spend time with Sasuke as well.

Finally at the gates, he rang the bell. A moment later, an unfamiliar mans voice sounded from the speaker "Uchiha residence, with who am I speaking?"

'Not Itachi this time, huh?' Naruto thought relieved before answering, "Uzumaki Naruto! Sasuke invited me over,"

He could then hear sheets being shuffled before the voice again sounded "Ah, yes, the young masters friend. Welcome,"

The gates opened and Naruto walked in. He wondered who that person had been on the speaker. Maybe they had a butler? They were rich enough, and the property was very large. Maybe they wanted someone to take care of the stuff around the house. Like the garden, they had to have the most skilled gardener working for them, to make everything look so pretty.

And with that thought, his mind drifted to the garden again. It was so pretty. It was still light out, but starting to get darker and everything had a feeling of tranquillity to it. He looked around himself. The large trees were so beautiful.  
He just couldn't help himself, and walked over to one of the flowerbeds in the square boxes of natural rock and touched one of the plants. They were beautiful, in wonderful colours and some with patters on the petals and some with the most amazing shapes.

"Well then, who are you?"

"Wha-!" Naruto jumped around, startled at the voice coming from behind him.

A beautiful woman stood smiling at him from a few meters away, looking him over. She was very pretty, with thick black hair and a lovely, deep purple dress on, slightly hidden by her partly buttoned coat. She was indeed very pretty, and as he looked at her face, Naruto saw some fair features he knew he'd seen before.

"U-Uzumaki Naruto," he finally replied to her question, blushing a bit at his own behaviour and at how pretty she was. And she looked so kind too.  
"I'm Sasuke's friend, I came to visit…" he shyly added, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

'This is him, huh? At the same time as I never would have imagined, I guess it's not so much of a surprise… Already I get the impression that this is a kind boy…'  
"Ah, yes, he mentioned you!" she smiled at Naruto and walked toward him, "Wonderful to meet you, I'm Uchiha Mikoto, Sasuke's mother,"

"Oh! Oh, wow, that's why you look like him! Oh, um, it-it's w-wonderful to meet you too!" Naruto rambled as he bowed and shook her hand, now very nervous and embarrassed.

"Haha, relax dear, I won't hurt you. No need to be so anxious," she smiled warmly at him, and he felt himself calm down a bit, still with a blush firmly in place.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry to be just wandering around like this, I was headed for the house, but your garden is so beautiful I got distracted," Naruto smiled at her, feeling a bit silly. He must've looked pretty weird, all spaced out, touching her flowerbeds.

"Really?" she said, smiling, "Well, he'd love to hear that, I'm sure,"

"Who? The gardener?"

"Yes, the gardener," she laughed knowingly, confusing Naruto a little.

"Well, then, shouldn't you go find my son? I'm sure he's very excited about you coming over," she walked toward the right side of the mansion, Naruto following her lead, "He's in the backyard, I said bye to him just before I saw you by the flowerbed. I'm heading out to run some errands, you see," She pointed in the direction to show Naruto where to go.

"Just go back there, he probably won't mind _you_ coming, at least," And again she smiled that knowing smile, leaving Naruto confused yet again, "I'm off then! I hope we get to talk some more some other time, Naruto,"

"Yeah, that'd be great," Naruto smiled genuinely at her, and as she walked off, he waved goodbye before looking down the garden.  
All he could see where she pointed were a small group of trees.  
'Ah well, if she says he's there, I'll just have to go look,' he thought to himself while walking down the garden, focusing on not to get distracted this time.

He walked slowly, letting himself take in his surroundings while trying to not space out again. The trees grew very randomly and freely here too, and it looked and felt like a refuge: somewhere to escape whenever you needed or wanted to. Thinking this, Naruto smiled a little. He liked that Sasuke had somewhere to escape to, if he should need it. Everyone had their bad days, and that Sasuke had this to come home to was nice to know. It all seemed so nice and calm.

'What's that…?'

As he neared the trees he'd seen where Mikoto pointed, he could almost see something in between them.  
He walked closer, and could see something that looked like a small building.

'He's in here?'

Naruto walked around the trees, and finally saw a small opening leading to the building about fifteen meters into the thick of trees. There weren't really that many of them, but they were oaks and weeping willows, and their leaves and branches made this place almost completely invisible if you didn't know to look there.  
He looked around himself, making sure there couldn't be any other place for Mikoto to have meant, and started to slowly walk down the path.

'What is this place? What's Sasuke doing here?' he thought to himself, looking around as he walked. It was amazing; this place was completely shielded from the outside, as if in another world of its own. The building was only about twenty meters from the walls surrounding the property and thus only twenty meters away from the rest of the world, yet it felt like Naruto was in the middle of a thick forest in the middle of nowhere, and that little house in front of him felt as the only one for miles around.

When he came close to the house, he could see that the top of the trees here were cut, allowing the house to be exposed to the sky. He looked at it. It had glasses on all the walls, only the bottoms of the walls were made of wood. It wasn't very big, only about four meters deep and three meters wide.  
He walked up close to the wall where the door was, and looked inside. The whole thing seemed to be filled with pots and rows of plants, all flourishing. Some seemed to be vegetables while some were plants. He could clearly see tomatoes and paprika and some others he didn't know for sure what were.  
The flowers there were beautiful too, but many were still only baby plants from what he could see, barely reaching out of the dirt.

'This is a greenhouse!' he thought to himself, taking it all in.

And then, as his eyes found their way to the right half of the greenhouse, he could see a slender figure with a very familiar hair style kneeling next to a row of plants close to the ground, digging a small hole in the dirt in a pot.

Sasuke hadn't noticed his outside admirer, and kept on working. As he lifted a small plastic bag into his hands, Naruto intensely followed his every movement with his eyes. The way his eyes were half closed when he looked down to pick up the bag of seeds, making him look like the very image of tranquillity; and how he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, opening his mouth just a little as he did it, lips separated in an enticing way.  
As he let his arm fall down again, his hair fell slowly and softly back into place, reminding the blonde of how soft it truly was, as he'd felt it just a week ago. As he opened the bag of seeds, the one staring so intensely at him let his eyes fall to his slender body. He was sitting elegantly and relaxed in a crooked kneeling position, with a soft sway in his back. His head tilted slightly to the right, as he picked out a seed, and when he placed it in the hole, he stretched his head forward, to see the seed lie safely in its new home.

It was so strange to see him like this. When he showed his sensitivity in the most honest form. And seemed both vulnerable and fragile at the same time as strong and dignified.

He then neatly closed the hole with dirt again and watered the pot elegantly with a small can he had by his side.

As the black eyed boy continued to the next pot, Naruto felt a longing like he'd never felt before. It was strong, and completely different to the ones he'd felt before around this boy he now called his best friend, and it was not possible for him to mistake the meaning of it.  
As he looked at his precious friend with that look of sensitivity, tranquillity and happiness he'd seen him with only once before, he knew that he could never deny what he now realised.

He felt himself tremble a bit as he smiled at the boy inside, looking at him tenderly.  
How could he not realise it? What he had indeed suspected swiftly, had to be, he knew that now.  
This was the best thing to have happened to him, and he thanked his own clumsiness for what it finally had brought him.

The nicest, kindest, most understanding and wonderful person in the world was sitting right there inside, only two or three meters away from him, and as he softly knocked the glass door, the most beautiful face he had ever seen, turned around to look him in the eyes, and as a look of surprise and complete embarrassment showed on his face, he couldn't help but giggle just a little, while waving at Sasuke.  
As the raven haired boy walked over, Naruto smiled warmly at him, walking in as he opened the door. Talking to his precious one, he felt happy, and as he persuaded Sasuke to let him stay and help as he finished his planting, he felt a warmth in his chest.  
A small blush claimed his cheeks, making the Uchiha next to him blush a little as well, as Naruto thought silently to himself, the words he would never deny again.

_'I love you, Sasuke,'_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N :** Yatta! XD

Good going, Naruto:D

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I certainly enjoyed writing it :D That's why it's up already! Hehe :D

So! Sorry to be slowworking when it comes to drawing, I still haven't posted pics yet. I'm working on it though, so they'll be up as soon as they're finished. I hope one of 'em turns out nice, cos I LOVE the feel to it. I'm very happy with how it's going, so I just hope the end result will be pleasing.

And exams are closing up on me, so the next few chappies might take more than just a week in between to finish, but not too much time. I like writing this, so it wont be pushed away :D

Minna, please wish me luck in the two exams I have in two and four weeks! T.T My first ever college exams, I'm kinda scared... I need to pass, or else I'll have even more to do next year, with all the normal second year classes, in addition to these if I should end up failing :'D And that would suck.

Okay, sorry about that, enough selfabsorption for now!

Again, thank yoooouuuuu sooooooo much for the reviews, they brighten my days! I love getting them! It's such great comfort to know someone likes what I make, it's always been kind of one of my little dreams to make something someone would appreciate (hopefully) in the same way as I have found to appreciate other peoples creative works... Hahaha, silly, I know, but it really means a lot to me... So thank you so much. I hope you'll like the following chapters as well, and other stories or things I make in the fututre :D

Thank you for all the wonderful encouragement, I'm not sure I deserve it, but I love it all the same :D

Until next time, lots and lots of love from P.Peachy :D


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

How…?  
How is it even faintly possible?  
How could it all go so wrong?

'How dare he? This is not what was supposed to happen!'

All-consuming, strangling, terrible darkness can come from one of the most ferocious feelings there is.  
A feeling of injustice, selfishness and of victimisation. A feeling of anger, sorrow and vengeance.  
Only one feeling has the potential to spawn so much hurt and, at times, terrifying repercussions.

_Jealousy is such a cruel thing._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Hello?"

A very sleepy Naruto opened his door Sunday morning, and looked into the black eyes of the youngest Uchiha.

A deep blush appeared on Sasukes face as he spoke "Hi… You still hadn't gotten out of bed? It's almost eleven,"

'What's he blushing a-' Naruto thought, but cut himself off as the reason dawned on him. He wasn't dressed, and was now standing in front of the boy he was in love with wearing only a pair of boxer shorts.

"Ahahaha, sorry, I overslept! I stayed up a bit late last night," he said, blushing furiously as he walked to the side, letting his best friend in.

'Oh crap, he's just too hot,' a nervous Sasuke thought to himself as he walked in. Naruto looked far too sexy for his own good. His body was slender, and just a little muscular, making him look delicate and incredibly good. As Sasuke sat down at his kitchen table inside, Naruto walked over to his dresser and got out some clothes.  
As he stood face away from Sasuke, the raven haired boy tried his best not to gawk, but failed miserably. The way his tanned skin looked unbelievably soft, and his hair stroked his neck sensually as his eyes searched the drawers, oblivious to Sasukes intense gaze, made the raven haired boys self control slowly begin shatter, as he felt very compelled to just jump the blonde in front of him then and there. And that was a horribly bad idea, for so many reasons.

'Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm,' he frantically thought to himself and forced his gaze away from Naruto. Instead, he stared intensely at a little tea box standing on the kitchen table, trying to shift his thoughts away from the very tempting blonde only a few meters away.

"I'll just go get d-dressed then," Naruto said, blushing a little again at this embarrassing situation.

He walked into the bathroom and jumped into the shower. As the water poured down on his head, flattening his hair and dripping down his body, he couldn't believe himself. He must've turned off his alarm clock earlier, in his sleep. That was stupid of him; Sasuke obviously seemed bothered by what'd now happened. What that in itself meant, be it positive or negative, he didn't know. But Naruto felt all aflutter now. He wouldn't have cared if someone like Kiba saw him, or Shikamaru or any of those guys, but… Sasuke, well…  
He loved him, and wanted him, so for him to see Naruto almost naked was very different. It became a lot more meaningful.

'…I wonder what he thinks of how I look…' he thought to himself, reaching for a towel.  
He felt a bit silly for thinking stuff like that, but he really wanted to know. He wanted for Sasuke to think that he looked good. For Sasuke to desire him. As perverse as it may sound, he figured it was the natural way of thinking.

Naruto wanted Sasuke, as he had realised a week prior.

He grinned as he dried himself off. That night had been amazing.

He closed his eyes and smiled. When he'd arrived, Sasuke had been so embarrassed to be found gardening, he'd looked absolutely mortified! But when Naruto nagged him a bit, he'd agreed to finish what he was doing, and even let Naruto stay, despite his embarrassment. And Naruto had loved every moment of it; to get to sit beside his precious person, and just enjoy his presence. After Sasuke had finished, they'd gone up to the mansion and cleaned up, before watching a movie in the second floor living room. They'd eaten all kinds of junk (mainly Naruto, that is) and just sat there, having a good time.  
Afterwards they'd taken a walk, and late at night, they'd ended up at the door of Narutos apartment building. As the raven haired boy had smiled and said goodnight, Naruto had felt miserable. For the night to end, the night he'd realised his love for his friend, was just not fair. He wanted so badly to just leap forward and kiss him, and for a small moment, he'd even imagined he'd seen a longing in Sasukes eyes as well. He'd laughed at himself, for being so silly as to even read something like that into his friends smile. Sasuke was his friend, and viewed him as only his friend, of course. Why wouldn't he? They were both guys, after all.  
And so, they'd said their 'So long's' and parted.

Naruto had then lain on his bed, smiling and thinking of the one he loved. He just wanted to savour the feeling of knowing how much he loved Sasuke, and didn't want to sleep.

The following week had been wonderful, and he was very cheerful and energetic.  
But last night he'd been too excited to fall asleep. He felt like an idiot, and sighed. Like a little girl, he'd been all giddy and nervous, looking forward to today. He'd only finally been able to go to sleep last night after forcing himself to remember that they were just hanging out; nothing special, just hanging out.

'But it's with Sasuke!!' he thought excitedly to himself as he pulled on his t-shirt, and smiled widely. He'd always looked forward to being with him, but now that he'd realised he loved the youngest Uchiha, it was just a little bit different. There was this hopeful feeling in him. The hope that Sasuke… maybe, kinda, sorta could-… could like him back, maybe, some day… He knew deep down the chance of that happening was slim to none, but he couldn't help but hope. At least he could hope.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Sasuke had gotten up from his seat. He walked over to Narutos bookshelves. He actually had some nice books; a lot of manga of course, but also a lot of other stuff.

'It's nice, really. Like I've known for some time now, he's not just what you see on the surface… Not that what you see there isn't pleasing though,' he thought to himself, feeling both a bit nervous and pleased.

He looked through what was in the different shelves, slowly taking it all in.

'Hmm… What's this? Looks like a notebook or something…' he noticed a thin book barely visible among the stuff on the top shelf, 'I wonder what it is…'

Sasuke reached up his hand, carefully pulling out the book.

A short moment after, the bathroom door opened. Naruto was now finished getting ready, pleased with his attire and all that. He saw Sasuke standing in front of the bookshelves, his back turned to Naruto.

'He didn't hear me come out?' he thought to himself, looking Sasuke over, 'Haha, I'll get him back for scaring me at his house that time,' he thought gleefully.

He snuck up behind Sasuke in a matter of seconds, and without warning;

"Sasuke!" he jumped on him, clinging to his back, arms around Sasukes neck.

"Naruto!" Sasuke said, swaying at the sudden added weight. But suddenly, Naruto became still.

"… What are you doing?" the blonde let go of his friends neck, slumping to the ground again.

"No, why are… Oh, um… just-!" he stuttered, grabbing the book Sasuke had been looking inside of from his grip.  
He blushed deeply. Looking away, panic started too emerge inside him.

'Why did he have to see this? No one's supposed to see it; I have no idea what to do now! This is so embarrassing,' he thought frantically to himself, hoping Sasuke would ignore what he'd just seen. For Sasuke to see something that was so personal to him… He felt incredibly vulnerable.

"…What are those? Did you draw all this?" Sasuke finally spoke, having up until now been too busy with observing how Naruto was acting. He took a step toward the blonde. 'Is he embarrassed over something like this?'

"Um… It's just doodles… You know, stupid stuff, pass time…" Naruto said, trying to grin, but not quite managing to, still avoiding the other boy's eyes.

"They're not just doodles, this is amazing, I had no idea you could draw this well! I had no idea you drew at all," Sasuke looked his friend over carefully. The few pictures he'd seen had been really good. Some were portraits and some seemed to be conceptual art, and he'd seen a fan art of that Tekken character Naruto had played with the time they'd played.

And there was this one picture… Like a well made sketch, of someone looking away from the viewer, only showing the neck and cheek, and you could barely see how the person looked peacefully away. Soft looking hair gently fell down, short, but a bit long some places.  
It kind of looked like…

He reached out a hand, and gently loosened Narutos grip on the book.

"Please, can I see it?" he gently asked, "I really want to. We're friends, right? Then can't you let me see this obviously timid and different side of you too?"

He smiled at Naruto with warm eyes.  
Such pleasant, warm eyes.  
Loving eyes…

Slowly, the grip the blonde had on the book loosened, and Sasuke had in his arms one of the most private sides of his best friend.  
But Sasuke knew to take good care of it.  
He could tell this was an important part of Naruto, though obviously one he didn't want anyone to see.

But he'd let Sasuke see.

'Sasuke… I can let him see…' Naruto thought silently, and a bit sadly, to himself.

He loved Sasuke; he knew that already, but still… Showing such an utterly vulnerable side of himself was scary.  
Especially when he didn't think the recipient of his feelings felt the same way back.

Sasuke walked over to the bed, and sat down on the edge of it. Finally, he reopened the book, and started looking at all the pages. Naruto on the other hand, felt as if he was being inspected the strictest of ways, as if he was soon to receive judgement on being _good enough_ or not. And he didn't mean his drawing skills.  
But the Uchiha boy felt almost ecstatic, he couldn't believe this. Not only were the drawings good, but Naruto had actually let him see the book.

When they first met, there'd be no chance of that ever happening. Naruto was too timid, too afraid of not being good enough, or strong enough. Sasuke could see that now. That had to be the reason why he tried so tirelessly to keep it from everyone, to keep his whole self from showing. Heck, even the friends he'd known for years were clueless. Fine, they could interpret his moods, but they had no idea who he really was.

And he was just so amazing.

The sensitivity in the drawings was so honest. This was true feeling, not just lines on papers. This was the sensitive and vulnerable part of Naruto which he seemed too afraid to show anyone, scared by the chance of being rejected for it.

"Sasuke… Um, maybe we should get going now," Naruto said after a while.

Sasuke looked up at him from where he sat on the edge of the bed. He looked so miserable; afraid and sad, as if already assuming that Sasuke would reject him.  
'You shouldn't feel like that, Naruto,'

He frowned for a moment and the second later he reached out his arms.  
He grabbed the blonde's thin wrist firmly, pulling him toward himself. Naruto tumbled forward in surprise, and as the two fell backward toward the bed, Sasuke caught him in a tight embrace.

"Naruto…"

"Sasuke, what-?"

"Naruto, just… The drawings were amazing, okay? So please, I want you to smile. There's no need for you to be so timid and sad," Sasukes voice sounded softly next to Narutos ear.

'I just need you to be happy, that's all,'

Face buried into the neck of the raven haired boy, Naruto blushed deeply.  
He smiled, just a little, and a moment later, he gave a small nod.

Feeling the warmth of the other boy all over his body, he snuggled closer, holding tighter onto Sasuke, allowing himself to enjoy the embrace with the one he loved and longed for so much.

'He always says the right things, doesn't he?' Naruto felt so much at peace. Sasuke really accepted him, all of him. Even that part he himself wasn't even completely comfortable with; the vulnerable, and in his opinion, pathetic one.  
But Sasuke didn't think it was pathetic, he apparently saw it as just another part of the mess that was the blondes personality.  
And this guy, this black eyed, raven haired, wonderful and amazing guy; it was his acceptance Naruto needed. To be accepted by the one he loved.

As he lay there, on top of the youngest Uchiha, he could hear the heartbeat of his friend. Slightly fast, but not much, just a little. It was so comforting, to hear the rhythm of his heart, and feel the firm, unwavering embrace. It was almost hypnotic, making him slowly lose himself as he felt the closeness to the one he loved.  
He wanted to stay like this forever; to just be close, to be so safe and so warm.

And yet, the embrace had this sad longing to it. A melancholic desire for more, a selfish craving to be loved back, and not 'just' be cared for as a close friend.  
Because he loved him so much, it hurt so deeply to know that it would probably forever be unrequited.  
But still, he wanted to stay like this. He savoured these moments.  
He knew they'd kissed, both with him as the one to take the initiative, and as him as the receiver, and he knew they'd hug sometimes, and both enjoyed the others closeness. And because of this, he wanted so much to hope that there was a small chance that maybe Sasuke could like him back. But at the same time, he also felt as if it was just his imagination gone wild. That he was getting his hopes up for nothing.

He felt confused, and he just couldn't figure it out. Whenever he leaned to one of the options, he would quickly dismiss it, feeling as though it was just as likely to be the other that was the case.

Little did he know that a very similar thought process was taking place just next to him.

Sasuke however, was a bit more optimistic. He knew the blonde cared for him, and to him, that was a step in the right direction. So was all this. Naruto had opened up to him, in a very profound way, just now. He realised how deep this vein of emotions reached in the little blonde. He'd just shown Sasuke an open wound for him to either rub salt in, walk away from, or maybe, hopefully, heal a little. And Sasuke wanted nothing more than for the blonde to be as happy as possible, hopefully with him. But he deserved to be happy, Sasuke knew that. More than anyone, Naruto deserved to be happy.

And, with how this was going, Naruto might be starting to feel even closer to him. Sasuke felt closer to Naruto; that was for sure. But even if the blonde did feel even closer to him, that still wasn't a guarantee that he would feel thatcertain way for Sasuke back. He didn't even know if the blonde saw it as an option. He might be completely straight, for all he knew. He did like that pink haired annoying girl when they met. But he didn't go on about her like he used to anymore. Maybe that was a good thing? He _had_ kissed him, and that was a very good thing. And a pretty good hint. At least Sasuke thought so. Naruto didn't just go around and hug or kiss people, but he had several times with Sasuke. And that drawing too, if he had seen correctly, then… Thinking of all this, he smiled widely, hope rising in his chest.

The chances seemed good. But he wasn't ready to confess or anything like that yet. He would. But he needed to be a bit more certain. For him, a guy who'd never had a crush before in his life, to tell someone he loved them, he needed to be a bit surer of what kind of answer he'd get.

Suddenly, he sat up, shifting the blonde in his arms over to his side, so he was lying on his lap, still embracing Sasuke. Naruto looked up at him, confused and, Sasuke could have sworn he looked disappointed too. He couldn't help but smile at this, and quickly held Naruto tight in his grip, pressing the blonde toward his body in a big hug.

"You're so soft and warm, you know that?" he said, smiling. He had to hold back a small laugh as he felt the blonde tense up a bit, probably blushing like crazy. But he just couldn't help himself; he'd wanted to say that. Not only for the fun of it, but also because he really felt that way, and for the blonde to know was good. He could give him small hints as to what he felt for him, right? As long as they were discreet. That way, maybe Naruto would start to think of the possibility of the two of them together too.

He let go of Naruto, and saw that he was indeed blushing. Smiling, he said "So, should we get going?"

For a moment, Naruto couldn't help but just stare at him. He looked so good. And he was so wonderful, even if he had ended the hug; he somehow managed to make up for it.

'Soft and warm…' he thought pleasantly, feeling very happy. Maybe Sasuke could like him back…?  
Finally, he sat up, and smiled.

"Okay! Let's go!"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N :** Hey everyone! Hope you liked this chapter of the story. I like it, anyway :D

This was really supposed to be the first part of chapter 8, but when I'd written this, I figured that if I were to put the rest in here too, it'd become freakishly long, so I just cut it here. And that way, it's out much sooner too :D

Exam on wednesday!!! So no new chappie til after that. And I have other assignments too, so it'll take a few days to get the nineth up.

This chapter would be up much earlier, but I've been so abnormally sleepy these last five or so days, so I keep falling asleep in front of the PC when I write XD;;;; In the middle of the day even! Which sucks really, cos this chapter was amazing fun to write. But now the weekend came, and I just finished it :D

Thanks again for the incredibly sweet reviews:D I love them, and I'm so happy that you guys like my story :D happy happy happy XD

And a Sasunaru pic is up at my dA account! I actually finished it. So if anyones interested, the url should be on my profile. But is kind of... weird about urls (can't be shown in messages) so I have no idea if it's actually shown... But if anyone'd like to see the pics, and they can't find the url on my profile, just mail me :)

So! Until next time, lots and lots and lots of love from P.Peachy :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

In Konoha city, the food festival was held, and at twelve o'clock that Sunday, a blonde and his black haired friend had arrived at the town square. There were many booths scattered all over, and in the rest of the city as well. There were some selling food of different kinds and nationalities, some selling clothes, and some selling various items of all kinds. There were also game booths, and a travelling amusement park with a few different rides.

"Ah, this is so cool!" the eager blonde exclaimed in excitement as they walked through the marketplace.  
He looked around, constantly turning his head to all directions to see everything, or at least as much as possible. The people here came from all over the world, and Naruto had never seen anything like this.  
The festival was only held every fourth year, and this year the city's foundation was also celebrated, as it was now 150 years old. So this year, the week long festival was bigger than ever, and since this was the last night, there would even be held fireworks in the evening.

Naruto, as an orphan, had rarely been able to go before. The festival had only been held four times since his birth, and he'd been too young to go alone for more than a little the first times. He would go and try some games, but the huge amount of people became too much to handle for a young child. The last two times the festival had been held, he could go with friends, but they would be with their families after a while, and the poor blonde would have nowhere to go but home. Roaming a festival alone just didn't feel right, and it wouldn't be very fun.

So this would actually be his first time with someone he knew wouldn't leave him after a few hours. Sasuke wouldn't leave him; Naruto knew he'd spend every moment of their day with him. He knew Naruto didn't really want to be alone, even if he'd said it was okay for him to leave.

Sasuke even said that if his family for some reason demanded him to be with them, he'd never go unless Naruto could come too.  
That had of course made the blonde in question blush like mad and tell him to not be silly, but even if he hadn't told Sasuke, and even if it was selfish, Naruto was very happy at his friends' kind words.  
And now he finally got to enjoy an entire final festival day with someone close to him. And even better, the one person in the world he wanted the most, the one he loved above all else, his very precious person; Sasuke.

"Oh, let's get something to eat!" Naruto said ecstatic, "I'm gonna eat all day, there's so much different stuff here!"

Sasuke shook his head, smiling a little, "You eat all the time, I don't know how you manage it," he stopped on the blondes cue, who was now standing in front of a booth serving some grilled foods, "It seemingly doesn't go anywhere either, you're as skinny as a twig,"

"Hey! I'm not skinny!" Naruto pouted as he got the food he'd ordered, "I'm just… lean, that's all,"

Sasuke looked him over, making the blonde blush. Being eyed by Sasuke did something to him, he wanted him to think he looked good, but at the same time it was a bit embarrassing.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" the raven haired boy finally said, "You do look very… _good_,"  
As Naruto heard this, he turned tomato-red and silent.

'He just said he thinks I look good… and what was that pause?' he though to himself, as if not sure if he'd heard correctly.

"Th-thanks," he said, smiling a little. He couldn't deny the fact that that comment made him happy. But what he'd meant with the slight pause, and then emphasis on the word good… he wasn't sure, but hell, it sure felt nice.  
Eating on his little grilled snacks, Naruto, and Sasuke at his side, continued walking around the marketplace. They bought little foreign things here and there and ate some other snacks (on Narutos initiative).

"Oh, hey, that game looks fun!" Naruto said as they walked over to a new booth at one of the corners of the marketplace.

Sasuke looked it over, "It's probably rigged to be unrealistically difficult,"

He looked over at the blonde next to him, who now looked terribly disappointed.  
'Oh, damn,'

"But, hey, we can still try right? We could make it, even if the odds are against us,"

He smiled at the blue eyed boy at his side. This could prove to be good for the blonde, even if it was just a game.

"…Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, getting excited. They walked over to the vendor and got three balls each.  
The game was the traditional one where you're supposed to knock down a small pyramid of bottles. Knowing that the bottles were usually filled with some slightly heavy stuff, however, the young Uchiha knew it was harder then it looked.

"Okay! Here we go!" Naruto said, aiming for the bottom row, slightly off the middle. Smashing the ball with all his might, he managed to, with a huge clang sound, beat all the bottles off the small plateau they were standing on.

"Yay!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down, "I did it! And they put some sand into those bottles too, right, so I even did it even when it was all heavy!" he grinned widely at Sasuke, who just couldn't help but laugh.

'He's just so damn adorable sometimes, I don't know how long I'll be able to go without stealing a small kiss from those lips…' he thought to himself, looking warmly at the boy in front of him.

"Now you throw too, Sasuke!" Naruto said, smiling at him, seemingly having all faith in the Uchiha boy's ability to knock over bottles.

Sasuke aimed, threw, and, of course, easily knocked all the bottles down. After a word of congratulation from his favourite blonde, the vendor of the booth came over.

"So whaddaya want? You could have two small prizes or combine your points and get a medium prize," he pointed to the prizes. The small ones were key chains with stuffed animals on them and small teddy bears and hearts in plush, and the medium sized ones were bigger stuffed animals and inflatable hammers and similar.

"Go ahead, choose," Sasuke said to Naruto, "I don't care what we get,"

"I get to pick?" he grinned. Receiving a confirming nod, he turned his attention at the prizes.

After a moment, he looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself, blushing a little.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, puzzled by the blondes behaviour.

"Oh, um, no, it's nothing; I just had this silly idea… Nothing important," he said, grinning awkwardly.

"Hey, pick whatever you want, okay? Don't worry about me thinking it's silly, you know I don't mind your silliness," he smiled, laughing a little.

"Well…" Naruto said, fiddling with his sleeve.

"Okay, listen, I'll just go over there," he pointed at a tree at the outside of the marketplace, where there were fewer people, "and you just pick whatever you want,"  
Nodding shyly, Naruto made his choice as Sasuke arrived under the tree. Walking over, Naruto blushed like mad, not meeting Sasukes gaze.

"Okay, s-so here's the deal…" he finally said, still not meeting Sasukes black eyes, "I know it's kinda… no, _very_, childish, but… um, well, I just thought they were so funny and cute, and I got this lame idea, so… here," he reached out a hand.

As Sasuke reached out his own, Naruto dropped a small key chain in his pale palm. It was a small black cat in soft fabric. Looking at Naruto again, Sasuke saw that he held up a small golden fox key chain, same style as the one he'd given Sasuke.

"S-see? They fit, you know? 'Cos of the hair…" he pointed to his blonde head, "I just thought it'd be fun to have one each… I know it's stupid, but, I don't know, I just kinda wanted to," he awkwardly stuttered, looking at the ground, smiling a little.

'Oh my GOD, he just keeps setting the record in cuteness, doesn't he?' Sasuke thought to himself, honestly surprised at the blonde in front of him.

He reached his arms out, and pulled the blonde closer by his shoulders. Narutos blush stayed firmly in place, obviously taken aback by the reaction of his friend.  
Sasuke wanted nothing more than to kiss him, right then and there. The meeting of lips was one of the things most on his mind these last days, and now he felt a strong urge yet again.

But… Naruto… Well, not now.  
Hopefully later, but not now. He could manage to wait a little more, right?  
For Naruto, he could. He wanted the blonde to want the kiss as well.  
Sighing, he smiled. The confused blonde in his grip looked up at him, and titled his head questioningly.

"Thanks," Sasuke finally said, "You made two very good choices,"

"Thanks," Naruto answered, relieved of the reply, if still a bit confused at his friends' behaviour.  
Walking out of the trees shade, the two strolled into the marketplace again, making their way to new corners.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

At eight in the evening, the firework-technicians were preparing to start the fireworks display ending the year's festival, and the celebration of the city.  
Sasuke and Naruto had wandered the city the entire day now, and were happy to find a spot on a hill to sit on, with a view of the soon starting display of lights, almost empty of people. Only a few couples had found this spot as well, and they were now busy doing their own things.

Feet aching, the two sat quietly next to each other, nibbling on some snacks. They'd spent the day together, playing games, taking some rides and had ate dinner together at a restaurant, where they'd talked all through dinner.  
Naruto was very happy, he loved getting to just hang out with Sasuke, just talking and being together.

At his side, Sasuke felt equally satisfied with how the day had turned out.  
But… selfish as it might be, he still craved for a kiss. It didn't have to be a big one, he just wanted the feeling and taste of the blonde again. He longed for it for so long now, and felt his limit soon to be reached.

He looked over at Naruto. The blue eyed wonder shivered a little, seemingly. Frowning a bit, he nudged his friend.

"Are you cold?"

"…No?"

"You suck at lying,"

"Fine, maybe a little cold,"

Smiling a bit at his precious blonde, he saw a good opportunity to get a bit closer, at least physically.  
He took the edges of the blanket the two were sitting on (which they'd bought during their day, since they knew they'd be sitting on the ground that night) and snuggled closer to the blonde, wrapping it around them.

"See?" he said, "Now you're warmer, right?"

Staring into the young Uchiha's eyes, Naruto blushed a little, and smiled.

"Yeah," he said, feeling very comfortable. Even though the ground was hard, this kind of evened it out.

As the first light blasted on the sky above, followed by wave after wave of amazing splashes of fireworks, the two sat beside each other, relishing in the closeness and warmth of the other while enjoying the show.  
After a while, Sasuke broke the silence between them.

"You know your drawings? I'd love to see the new ones you make too," he smiled.

"…Well, um, okay… Remind me sometimes, and I'll show you after I make more," Naruto replied, a little embarrassed, but very happy.

"But, there is one thing I'd like to ask you," Sasuke continued.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, there was this one picture, which was absolutely amazing… It was a person looking away, with kind of short hair somewhere, and a bit longer in the front. And whoever it was, looked so peaceful… If you don't mind my asking, who it was?" he eyed the blue eyed boy next to him, very interested in his reply.

To his surprise, Naruto laughed, "Ha-ha, you narcissist,"

Quickly realising what he'd just said, he clasped his hands in front of his mouth, as if trying to make the words go away. He blushed like mad, staring at Sasuke.

"You mean… it was me? You've actually drawn a picture of me?"

Sasuke was astounded. He thought it looked a little like him, but he hadn't dared hope that it was.

'I can't believe he actually drew_ me_…'

Still silent and with his hands in front of his mouth, Naruto couldn't manage to say a word.  
He hadn't intended to ever say that… It was a keepsake, a memory of the night he'd realised his love for his best friend. A picture of how beautiful Sasuke had looked the exact moment he'd known…  
And now Sasuke knew! He didn't know why, of course, but he never meant for him to know at all. Feeling a bit of panic, he thought of how weird the raven haired boy next to him must think he was.

But Sasuke didn't think he was strange in any way other than how on earth it could be possible to be as perfect as Naruto. How on earth he became so wonderful.  
He was just so incredible, and Sasuke felt indescribably happy at this new revelation. He had to mean _something_ to the blonde.

'He's just so amazing…'

He grabbed the blonde's hands, and as they limply fell to his side, Sasuke cupped his chin, and leaned slightly towards him.

Softly, he got his wish as their lips met in a tender kiss.

"You're a really good friend…" he whispered a moment later, before letting himself steal Narutos lips gently once again.  
To Sasukes surprise, Naruto now took the initiative, and forced his tongue carefully into his mouth.

Softly and calmly, they kissed, tongues caressing gently as they felt each others longed for taste. Sasuke let his hand run softly through the blondes golden hair, as Narutos hands found their way to Sasukes face, stroking his cheek slightly.  
For a few minutes, the two just sat there, gently kissing as the fireworks blazed unnoticed in the background.  
They both wanted it so badly, and were overwhelmed by the sensation of the other. As they finally ended it, they still wanted more, and ended up just sitting there, lips softly touching.

'Does he care for me, as I do for him…?' a small voice whispered in Naruto's mind, as he felt the warm breath from Sasuke on his lips. His lips were so unbelievably soft… Pure happiness flowed through his chest. Naruto couldn't believe how lucky he was, he had kissed him! And Sasuke… Sasuke kissed him so sensually back. Even now… the feeling of his lips gently touching Narutos own, was almost overwhelming him completely. Just being this close… With Sasuke, Naruto was happier than he had ever been.

Sasuke made him feel stronger; made him feel loved and accepted as no one had ever made him feel before. And he made him feel closeness he never wanted to ever live without again.  
Just seeing him, made Naruto feel happy, and his smiles, his laughter, his entire being, were what the blonde wanted to be close to. He loved Sasuke, and he knew he always would.

'I love you, so, so much, Sasuke… I hope I can tell you that, some day,' he thought silently to himself, relishing in the touch with the one he loved.

Just then, Sasuke pressed his lips against Narutos more firmly again, before pulling away a moment later. He looked at Naruto with the warmest eyes the blonde had ever seen, and he felt himself smile back, feeling almost numb of pure delight.

'This _has_ to mean he's at the least _thinking_ of me in a way that's closer than just friends,' Sasuke thought happily to himself at the beautiful, loving smile he was given.  
But the peace and tranquillity was soon broken as the song Low by Coldplay suddenly chimed quietly between them, originating in Sasukes pocket.

'Damn,' both of them thought at the broken moment, the blonde a bit sad and the raven haired a bit pissed.

"Hello?" he snarled into the phone as he answered it.

"Oh, hi mom… No the fireworks aren't over yet, but I think the finale is coming soon… Yeah, he's here. Why do you ask? …. No. No mom… No…. Give it a rest, please… NO WAY…"

A strong voice then sounded so loud Naruto could hear it over the fireworks, "UCHIHA SASUKE,"

Then Sasuke looked at the phone with a tired look and handed it slightly unwillingly over to the blonde next to him, blushing a little.  
Slightly confused, the blonde took the phone and put it to his ear.

"H-hello?"

"Naruto? Oh, wonderful, my stubborn son gave in!" a cheerful female voice sounded, in strong contrast to what Naruto just heard.

"Mrs Uchiha?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. Yes, it's me Naruto, I just wanted to ask you something,"

"Oh, w-well, go ahead, by all means,"

"Would you like to come over to our house this Thursday? His father would love to meet you, and then we'd have the chance to get to know you too,"

"Oh, w-wow, um, yes, that sounds great! I'd love to!" Naruto answered excitedly.

"Wonderful! I'll see you then. Bye," she said cheerfully, hanging up.  
Still a bit surprised, Naruto sighed, and turned his attention over to Sasuke again.

"Um… I-I think I'm coming home with you from school next Thursday," he said, blushing.

"Oh?" Sasuke said, not at all dissatisfied with where this was going.

"Yeah, your mother just invited me… I hope you don't mind?" he looked worriedly at Sasuke, afraid to be an intrusion.

"Of course not," Sasuke smiled, "I always like to have you around, you know that," He got up, and reached his hand to Naruto.

Blushing a little at the gesture and words, he took the hand being offered to him and got up. Picking up the stuff they'd brought, the two took one last look at the scene as the smaller privately fired fireworks shone on the night sky, now that the big fireworks display by the city had finished.  
Naruto followed as Sasuke started walking away, headed for where they'd parked the car earlier.

'Should I…? He might be uncomfortable now that the moment's over… But then again… I want to,'

And with that, a pale hand reached to his left and grabbed a smaller hand.  
Naruto felt his heart skip a beat as Sasuke held his hand. Blushing like mad, he looked up at him, and saw that Sasukes cheeks too were painted a light pink. As he got a small smile from the black eyed boy, he felt his heart race yet again that night. He let his fingers tangle into Sasukes, holding on firmly.

Happy and excited, they walked down the road, looking forward to hopefully many more wonderful days like this one.

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**A/N : **Hi everyone!

Hope you liked this chapter too, all fluffy and nice :D They just keep getting closer, don't they? Well, good for them ;D

Feels like I haven't posted for ages, even though it really hasn't been that long...

Once again, I'd like to say thank you for all the nice and wonderful reviews, they brighten my days :D And for those who might wonder, my exam went great and I'm much more perky now, not at all sleepy anymore :D Yay XD

Posted a cute little SasuNaru comic thing on dA if anyones interested :D I'm quite happy with it, so I'd like to hear what you think :)

Well, I think that's all for now! Thanks again for reading, means a lot to me :)

Again, until next time, lots and lots, yes, even TONS of love from P.Peachy :D


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Uh- … uhuu… huhuu…"

'…A woman crying?'  
A small blonde haired child walked over to a figure, holding its hands in front of its face.

'G-grandma?'

She continued sobbing, her heart slowly dripping out in small watery tears.

"P-please, grandma, don't cry… I'm sorry, don't cry…"

Gently, he reached a comforting hand up to her arm.  
But the sobbing didn't stop, and the comfort was not accepted with sorrowful happiness. Instead, two fingers moved slightly.

"G-grandma…?"

And thus, an eye became visible in the darkness behind her hands, and its piercing gaze was the coldest, most hateful the small boy had ever seen given to him.

As cold fear clenched its fist around his throat, he felt tears flow down his now pale cheeks, and with a scream, found himself suddenly sitting in his bed in his apartment in Konoha.

Breathing heavily, Naruto felt the tears continue to fall down, seemingly unstoppable.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Is anything wrong?" Sasuke asked, "You keep spacing out so easily today…"

'And you look so depressed while doing it too…'

The two close friends were walking out of the college building, headed for the Uchiha mansion. It was a cool Tuesday afternoon, and it was today Naruto had been invited to Sasukes house by the lovely Mikoto Uchiha. Though thankful to his mother, Sasuke still couldn't help but worry, the blonde seemed to be unusually down today. He'd looked dead tired when he first saw him at school, but the moment he'd seen Sasuke he'd acted like nothing was wrong. Sasuke however, knew better, and was now worrying over what was wrong.

"No, I'm fine Sasuke!" Naruto rolled his eyes while smiling, and giggled, "You've asked me that, like, ten times today already!"

"I know there's something on your mind, even if you wont spill it," he said, smiling down at the slightly shorter blonde next to him, "I'll just have to wait till you're ready I guess,"

"…"  
Blushing a little, the blonde simply looked away, not really knowing what to say.

After a while, they arrived at the Uchiha mansion, and walked in on the property. Now, Naruto was quiet for a completely different reason.

Silly as it may be, he felt like this would be a test, a test to see if Sasukes family accepted him as well. Sasuke cared for him as his best friend, and Naruto wanted his parents to like him as well. He knew Sasuke respected his family, and for them to not approve of Naruto as his closest friend would probably burden him. And Naruto wished so deeply not to be a burden on him. He didn't want to be the reason for ever making Sasuke sad.

Swallowing hard, he straightened his back, and tried to keep his head cool. He didn't much care for tests, and this was like several exams at once; too much pressure.

"Hey," Sasuke stopped in his tracks suddenly, without the blonde noticing. He grabbed his arm and turned Naruto towards him. Looking the now blushing blonde over, he smiled a little.

"Don't be so nervous, it's not like they'll bite you," he leaned forward a little, "They're just my parents and my idiot brother you know,"

Naruto blinked a moment. Then suddenly he started giggling, leaving Sasuke a bit confused.

"Haha, that's just what your mom said to me the last time I met her!" he continued giggling, "You're a lot like her, you know? Both in looks and other stuff,"  
'Like that elegant, but caring feeling you have to you…'

Smiling, Sasuke replied "You think so, do you?" They continued walking up the road, and to the raven-haired boy's joy, it seemed like Naruto had started to relax a bit more.  
Though, that wouldn't last very long.

"Sasuke!" a very happy and sly Itachi exclaimed as he opened the door for them, "Finally you're here; mom's been making me do all sorts of horrible things, like help make cookies for our guest,"  
Eyeing Naruto, he saw the blonde suddenly tense up, probably due to their last meeting he figured, and nerves for coming over.

'This could be fun!'

"Well, now, mom and dad don't know you're here yet," he suddenly whispered while they walked into the hallway, taking off their shoes, "-so if you want, you probably have time for a quickie if you hurry up to your room right awa-"

Blushing like mad, Sasuke cut his brother off by pushing him into the kitchen and closing the door to the hallway. Naruto, still in shock, just stood frozen, blushing a nice tomato red, not knowing quite what to do.

"Sorry," Sasuke promptly said, while grabbing the blonde's arm and leading him upstairs anyway, making Naruto blush even more.

"W-what are you doing?" he asked, while they made their way toward Sasukes room.

"I want to have a quick shower and change before dinner, and there's no way I'm letting you out of my sight with my brother in the house," he replied, opening the door to his room.  
Well inside, with the door closed, he finally let go of Naruto, to the blonde's slight disappointment.

"I'll just be a minute," Sasuke said, while walking into his private bathroom.

Nodding, Naruto sat down on the couch in the corner. He felt very tired; he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. That nightmare… Why wouldn't it go away? It hadn't popped up in a good year or so, but now it resurfaced yet again. And he always felt so weak when he woke up. Weak and shameful. And if the lack of sleep wasn't enough to make him tired, then those feelings sure did the trick, sucking all energy out of him.  
Slowly, he felt his body become lighter as he fell asleep.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Ten minutes later, Sasuke came out of the bathroom wearing only his towel. He'd forgot to bring new clothes in after he'd been so distracted by his brother, so now he was picking out new stuff from his drawers.  
But suddenly, he noticed his blonde friend lying on his couch. He walked over and crouched down in front of him.

'Sleeping, huh?'

Smiling, he looked him over. He was in a sitting position, but his head had limply tilted to his side, leaning on the couch. One of his hands was lying on his lap, and the other lay limply on the couch. His mouth was slightly open, and Sasuke could hear him breathe slowly.

'It's a shame to disturb him when he's looking this beautiful, but I can't just let him sleep. He'll probably want to be a bit more awake and fresh when he meets my parents… I don't get why it's such a big deal to him, but he's very cute when he worries,' Smiling, Sasuke started to nudge his blonde friend gently.

"Naruto, you have to wake up now… Naru-"

"Don't lea-!" Naruto suddenly yelled while shooting up to a sitting position, abruptly pulled out of his nightmare.  
His eyes were huge and filled with despair and fear. Panting, he realised that it was all a dream, and saw Sasukes shocked face only an inch from his. Blushing a little, he rubbed his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, I must've fallen asleep…,"  
His arms trembled. That god damned nightmare again. And now he'd made Sasuke worry too, he knew it.

'God dammit, I'm so useless,' he thought sadly to himself, stroking his cheeks to wake up.

"Are you okay?" Sasuke finally asked, still a bit surprised at this violent awakening, "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

"…It's nothing. I'm okay, really. My imagination gone wild again, I guess," he smiled at Sasuke, trying his best to sound as convincing as possible.

"…You're still trembling,"

"…Oh. Just a little though,"

"But still…" Sasuke took Narutos hands in his. He could feel how violent the trembling really was, now that the blonde let himself relax a little more at the touch of his friend. He held on tightly, trying to calm the nerves of his love.  
'He shouldn't ever have to be this scared, even if it was just a dream… I'll try to make it better,'

From where he sat, kneeling in front of Naruto on the couch, he bent his head forward toward his hands, and softly let his hot breath warm their hands. As they sat there, Sasuke warming and comforting his favourite blonde, Naruto couldn't help but smile.

'He really does care for me, doesn't he…' he thought happily to himself. He felt some of the pain in his chest disappear, and slowly stopped trembling.

"There," Sasuke finally said, letting go of Narutos hands. He got up, and just then did Naruto realise.

"Oh, wow, um, y-you're, ehem, l-like half-n-naked," he said, blushing like mad, but not quite managing to look away from the lean and slightly muscular chest and stomach of his good friend.

Smirking slightly at that reaction, Sasuke casually replied "Well, I was going to get dressed, but then I saw you sleeping over here. Thanks though,"

"F-for what?" a heated Naruto asked.

"Well, that reaction has to mean I look good, now, doesn't it," he grinned even more, bending down over Naruto, supporting his arms on the couches back "That blush speaks for itself,"  
This made the blonde in question blush even more.

"…Uhm…"

Gently, Sasuke let his forehead rest on Narutos' for a brief moment. He smiled.

"I'll go get dressed, then. Be right back," standing up, he walked into the bathroom with new clothes.  
On the couch he left a still blushing, heart racing and hot Naruto, feeling a bit confused, but still not at all disappointed in what'd just happened.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

A few minutes later, Sasuke, with Naruto shyly standing behind him, arrived on the first floor, headed for the dining room.  
A man and Itachi were already there, and Mikoto was in the kitchen getting the food. As she walked in with the last pan, she noticed Sasuke and Naruto coming in the door.

"Oh, there you are!" she exclaimed, walking over. She took Narutos hand, "Thank you for coming today, Naruto! Sasuke, would you introduce him to your brother and father?"

Nodding, Sasuke led Naruto over to Itachi, "You've met my idiot brother, Itachi,"

"Ah, don't be so cold, dearest little brother, you know you love me," he smiled at Naruto, "Glad to have you with us tonight, Naruto,"

Blushing a little, Naruto smiled and shook his hand. It was actually the first time he'd been properly introduced to him.

"And this," Sasuke turned toward the man sitting on one end of the table, "is my father, Fugaku,"

Feeling a bit scared, Naruto walked over to him. Fugaku looked him over, making him feel like he was being evaluated by the strictest examiner. Fugaku looked very powerful. He had this aura of power, and looked very much like Itachi. Sasuke looked more like his mother, in Narutos opinion. Slender and elegant, while Itachi and their father were both seemingly taller, Naruto could tell just by looking at him sitting. They looked less elegant, and much rougher than Sasuke and Mikoto. Wondering a little what Fugaku must think of Naruto, the blonde reached out his hand, and felt a big strong hand grab it. They shook, and Fugaku looked at him sternly. Blushing a little, Naruto looked away when they let go.

"...You seem like a healthy young man," Fugaku said to Naruto, before shifting his gaze to his wife, "Let's all sit and eat dinner now, right, Mikoto?"

Smiling, Mikoto nodded to the boys and everyone sat down.

As they started filling their plates, Sasuke felt a bit happy. Healthy wasn't a bad compliment from his father actually. Not that it would have mattered to him whether he approved of Naruto or not, but it sure made it easier for him. If he was lucky enough to have the blonde love him back some day, it certainly would be easier to tell his parents about it if they liked the guy he was in love with.

As they all started eating, Mikoto turned toward Naruto, "So, Naruto, what do you study? I hear you go to the same college as my son,"

"Oh, I study animation, actually," he said. Having a drink first, he then continued, "I'd like to work with animation some day,"

"Oh, well what kind of animation then? In movies or commercials?" Itachi asked, participating in the conversation.

"Well, I'd rather work with games, but movies sounds very interesting too," he smiled at them.

"He's very talented too," Sasuke added, "I've seen some of the things he's turned in for school, and already he's doing very well,"

Blushing a little, Naruto said "I-it's not that good," He had shown Sasuke an animation he'd done for a school project, but he didn't expect Sasuke to brag about him though. But, he couldn't deny that praise from the raven haired boy did feel very nice.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Naruto! If Sasuke says it's good, then I'm sure it is! He isn't one to give fake or excessive compliments, believe me, I know my little boy," Mikoto said, smiling.

"Mom," Sasuke exclaimed at what he'd been called, blushing a bit.

Naruto giggled silently. Sasuke was so sweet around his family.

The rest of the dinner went very well. They talked and laughed, and afterwards went into the big living room and had desert. The cookies Itachi had made on demand by his mother, and a chocolate cake Mikoto had made, along with coffee and soda. They talked more and listened to Itachi play the piano. When he'd finished, Naruto had pulled on Sasukes shirt, and whispered to him how he liked _his_ playing even better. Sasuke had blushed a bit and smiled, making Naruto think the raven haired boy was even more adorable and sweet than it was at all possible to be.

All in all it was a delightful evening, and Naruto enjoyed every minute of it. As he listened to Itachi play yet another song with Mikoto singing along, hugging her husbands arm, while Sasuke sat smiling next to Naruto, he couldn't help but think that this had to be what having a family felt like. Silly as it may be, he felt so openly welcome, and the atmosphere was so pleasant and safe, that he just couldn't _not_ feel it. They were all so kind, even Fugaku. He was a silent man, but he didn't feel threatening or unpleasant at all.  
And Sasuke… Well, just being close to him, made the young blonde happy.

When the evening ended, it was a bit sad, but it'd been so much fun, that he was just grateful to have been able to come at all.  
Saying his farewells to Mikoto, Fugaku and Itachi in the hallway, Naruto walked outside with Sasuke.

"I'm sorry I won't be able to drive you home today," Sasuke said as they walked down the road.

"That's okay, Sasuke! I can walk on my own. Besides, I never demanded you drive me at all, and it's not your fault the car needs a new part,"

"I know, but I still feel bad,"

"Aw, don't," Naruto stroked Sasukes arm.

Smiling, Sasuke looked at Naruto. The blue eyed boy smiled back, warmly and happily.

"Hey, Sasuke,"

"What?"

"Thanks for letting me come over today… It was really fun,"

"What are you talking about? Of course I'd let you come. You can come whenever you want," he patted Naruto's shoulder, "Besides, all they did was asking questions and act all goofy. Can't have been all that great,"

"No, it really was! Really, it was great! I've never had that kind of fun before, you know? So I had a wonderful time!" he looked up into the black eyes of the youngest Uchiha. They looked both a bit sorry and happy at the same time.

"Well, I'm happy you did, then," Sasuke said as they arrived at the gate, "…and I hope you'll have more fun like that some other time too, with us,"  
Smiling widely, Naruto nodded eagerly, while the gate opened.

"I guess I'll see you at school then," he said.

"Yeah…" Sasuke said. He didn't want the evening to end already, but it was getting late, and they both had lectures early the next day. "But,"

"Hm?"

"…I'm really glad you came today," Sasukes deep black eyes met with Narutos blue pools, and the blonde could feel his honesty. Could feel how Sasuke appreciated his presence. And _that_, made him very happy.

At the spur of the moment, he gave in to his impulses, and flew forward a moment, hugging Sasukes chest tightly. He quickly let go, and stood up smiling again. Waving a goodbye to the one who stole his hearts most deep emotions, he ran off smiling, heading home.  
Blushing, Sasuke waved back as Naruto ran off. He hadn't expected that. Not that he minded, of course.

"Heeheehee, I saaaw thaaat," a taunting voice sang from the speaker on the gate. Turning tomato red, Sasuke clenched his fists and firmly spoke into the microphone "Shut up, onii-san," Before heading up toward the house again.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

…

"Beep,"

…

"Beep,"

…

"Be-,"

"Hello?"

"Sakura, I'm sorry,"

"Naruto? What are you calling fo-?"

"Sakura, I can't do it anymore… I've been trying to find a way of telling you, but I couldn't do anything but give it straight to you. I'm sorry; it's stopping now, even though I promised I'd do it,"

"…What?"

"I'm sorry. I never should have said yes in the first place. I hope you can forgive me some day,"

"Wait, what the hell do you think-"

"I'm sorry… -Click-,"

Slamming the phone in the floor, Sakura felt her blood boil.

'So he loves him, huh?'

She clenched her fists.

'I won't forgive this, Naruto. I won't forgive you. He loves you, but you have no right to love him back, you god damned fool! I deserve him! He deserves _me_!' She slammed her fists in the wall.

'_I won't let you have him!'_

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N : **Hehey everyooone :D

Wow, very early update, huh? ... Well, I kinda just started writing and couldn't stop. I'm actually posting this in my writing break of chapter 11, lol.

I think it might be because we're finally getting to a part I've had in my head for a long time. Not saying what though, so you'll just have to keep reading if ya wanna find out wth I'm babbling about X3

Hmmm... Well, I have some stuff for school (like lots of drawings, a photo series and a physics exam) that needs to be done too, so I don't know how the chappies ahead will be when it comes to posting... But then again, I don't think I've ever gone two weeks between an update (correct me if I'm wrong), so I guess it's okay. Hmmm, here's a thought: maybe if I waited longer between the postings, the tension in the story would build up? What do you think, should I post more rarely? But then again, I have a chappie I wanna do for christmans, so the story can't progress too slowly either... Eh, silly me X3

And you know, the mailing system here seems to be down at times. I'm not recieving mailing notices on the reviews I get. But luckily I visit this page often, so I saw them anyway :D And on that note: I LOVE getting reviews, thank you soooo sooooo much for sending me reviews, it's such a motivation. And always so much fun! I push the stats button and sometimes there's a new one, and I go 'weeeee' XD Hahaha, so yeah, they make my days like I've said before :D If I'm down, they seem to have some mystical power to bring me right back up again :D

But yeah, one more thing, as always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well, even though I think it's my shortest one yet (or maybe the lenght of the first one?). And it's kind of dull. But it's needed for the story, so please bear with me. It'll get better :D I liked writing it though, for various reasons. One being that I like seeing Naruto (and Sasuke too, for that matter) in a more family-ish environment :)

Woooh, sorry for the lenghty author note. Congrats to those of you who managed to read all the way through XD

And I think that's all for now, so before I jump back into my now very large Word document, I only have one more thing to say: as always, lots and lots and lots of love from P.Peachy :D


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_I've been abandoned by people I loved before._

…

_I never want that to happen again._

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X_  
_

It was a cold November day.  
It was Friday and Naruto was walking home from school, feeling very happy. Sakura had invited him for a walk later that evening, and he hoped she might forgive him for breaking his promise to her. At the same time as he blamed her for making him choose such a horrible thing, he still felt most of the blame was to be lain on him. He had accepted it, and promised her. He realised also, he would have to tell Sasuke… But he didn't have the courage to do it yet. He was too scared. And he just couldn't bare the thought of losing him now.

But maybe he'd settle things with Sakura now. She had been one of his closest friends for years, and he didn't want to lose her either. He would admit, that she did become a bit more shallow and temperamental the later years, but puberty did that, he figured. It'd probably pass, and she'd be the nice and mellow Sakura-chan she used to be again.

Smiling a little, he headed inside his apartment. Things were going so well lately. He felt closer to Sasuke than ever, and the week prior, when he'd gotten to visit them at home and spend time with his whole family for the first time, was a night he knew he'd keep in his heart forever. For an orphan like himself, it had been incredible. The feeling of a home with a family was so nice, even if he knew he really wasn't part of that family for real.  
Usually, being with a family and seeing how good they had it, was something he'd just shrug off and not let get to him, but with Sasuke and his family, he just couldn't.

But lately… he was thinking about…  
But, no he could never do that.  
No way, that'd just be stupid.  
But… still, he really wanted to. And… if he dared hope so, it might not be entirely sure he'd be turned down by Sasuke if he were to confess.  
…

But! But… he couldn't be sure. Kissing didn't always have to mean anything right?  
These days, you can never really know. People kiss. That's just how it is. They give into their cravings, and kiss. If the craving should be from love or lust, or something completely different even, is often hard to determine.  
Even if it did mean something, there was always the question of how strong the feelings were as well. A fling, a crush, a lustful desire or love?

And, he was the one to take the initiative the first time, and the one to take it to a slightly new level the second time, on the festival. Maybe Sasuke just got caught in the moment?  
…

He always felt so happy when they kissed, and was so sure that it had to mean something. It had to mean that Sasuke had some strong feelings for him. He even acted differently now than he did when they'd first met early that fall. He'd hug him, he'd talk and listen with such interest, and he'd laugh and smile.

_But_…

If Naruto should decide to tell the raven haired boy… He still needed to be prepared for a negative reply. And if that happened, it might mean he'd lose Sasuke as a friend too. He'd never get to be close to him again. He'd never get to just sit next to him again. Never get to talk with him like they did when they hung out.  
And never get to kiss him again.  
Now, at least, he still held the chance of tasting those soft lips once again. Nothing had been determined. Nothing had been made into something tangible. It was all kind of foggy, and the boundaries weren't all set. That still gave opportunities for closeness to the one he loved so much.

And that closeness was something he couldn't bare the thought of losing.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Sssssh,"  
As hot water travelled over his pale skin, Sasuke couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong.  
Something seemed strange, but he couldn't seem to determine what. But that phone call… Had something to do with it.  
Sighing, he got out of the shower and got dressed after drying off.  
'Why did that annoying girl call?' he thought to himself. He'd hung up on her, but when she called back for the third time, she'd even started crying when she spoke with him, begging him to meet her later that night. Not in the mood for listening to the sobs of that shallow girl, he'd agreed just to shut her up.  
'So what does she want?' he sighed yet again. Damn girl. He'd planned to just relax at home tonight, but that had now been disturbed.

Shaking away the irritating thoughts of the troublesome girl, he shifted his focus over to something much, much more pleasant.

Naruto had been so cute at the college earlier that day. They'd sat in the cafeteria and the blonde had been eating a cupcake. And, oblivious to it himself, he'd gotten a few crumbs on the side of his mouth.  
When he was sitting there, smiling and not noticing what he had on his cheek, that had been such a cuteness overload for Sasuke he almost hadn't had the strength to hold back his urge to lick them all off. Just thinking about it now made him grin. And the blush on Narutos face as Sasuke had smilingly commented on the small crumbs had been just too sweet. He'd laughed and wiped them off, smiling honestly even when he was embarrassed. Sasuke loved seeing that. Loved seeing how he now could smile that honest smile so often. The fact that Naruto didn't feel the need to pretend to smile, and could smile honestly so much now, made the young Uchiha boy very happy.

He sighed yet again, but happily this time.

That guy… Heh, _guy_. It was so strange. Sasuke'd never though _he_, the Uchiha's young heir, was gay. But, calling himself gay implied that he was attracted to guys. And… he wasn't. He was just attracted to this one guy, the strange little blonde named Uzumaki Naruto. So… classifying wasn't easy. But he knew how he felt, regardless of what booth he'd be sorted into by the rest of the world.

Naruto… How couldn't he fall for him? He'd never even met anyone even slightly like him.  
Never met someone so strong, yet with such a firm conviction of their own weakness.  
Never met someone with such a wonderful personality, being both vivid and joyful, as well as deep and complex.  
Never met someone he'd ever loved this much, or ever had the possibility to at all.

And now, he even felt sure the blonde had feelings for him too. How could that not be the case? Naruto… He knew that little blonde, and he was far too shy and too timid to ever kiss someone without meaning it. Without wanting it. He felt something for Sasuke; that much was for sure. But, if Sasuke were to ever tell him how much he actually loved him, he needed to be a bit more certain as to what answer he'd get. He had never experienced anything like this before, and he wasn't ready to just blurt out his feelings just to have them be turned down.  
He'd have to find out how deep Narutos feeling were for him, and then he'd have to figure out a good way of telling the blonde how he felt about him.

But tell him, he had too.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Nervous and excited, Naruto walked down the street. It was nine o'clock in the evening, and he was supposed to meet Sakura in the park in fifteen minutes. It was a small walk from his apartment, but to make sure he didn't come late, he walked from home early. He didn't want to be late if there was the chance that she could forgive him for breaking his promise.  
He'd thought a lot about it the past days, and had decided that he did indeed need to eventually tell Sasuke about it too, but he didn't know how. He'd probably be very upset.  
Sighing, Naruto felt the familiar lump in his throat as he thought of this dilemma. He truly hated himself for this. He felt like he'd betrayed his best friend, and the guilt was eating at him. Soon he'd have to tell him, or he'd just burst. But first of all, he now had to meet Sakura. Shoving the other uncomfortable thoughts into the back of his mind, he shifted his focus back to the pink haired girl he'd known for many years.

'Oh! Wait, if I ever get to be with Sasuke, what would Sakura say?' he suddenly worried. She would probably be very upset. But they had been friends for many years, and she only liked Sasuke for his looks. She could forgive him, right? Yeah, she would understand, she was one of his closest friends after all. She wouldn't deny him Sasuke if she understood how much Naruto loved him.

'Ahaha, wow, I'm getting way ahead of myself, aren't I? Making it sound like I'm already with Sasuke,' he thought to himself, smiling embarrassedly at his own enthusiasm.  
A few minutes later he arrived at the park and found himself a bench.  
There, he smiled and waited, for whatever the pink haired girl wanted with the evening.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

'Hmmm, looks like I'm a bit late… But I really don't care. Damn girl dragged me out at a time like this, I don't give a damn if she has to wait a few moments before she starts whining again,' Sasuke thought annoyed and tiredly to himself as he walked toward the park.  
Slowly, it came into sight, and he started walking across the street.

As he walked up on the sidewalk, he noticed that she wasn't alone.  
A figure stood in the shades, and she seemed to be very aggressive toward whoever it was.

'What's going on…?'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"What the hell do you think you were doing?! Did you really think I'd just let that go? You goddamned betrayed me, you jerk! You broke your promise, and our friendship!" the pink haired girl raged with cold eyes and an even colder voice, "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is to lose the guy of your dreams to your _guy_ friend? Do you have the slightest clue of how much it hurt when I found out that the one who promised me he'd help me get the man I long for had fallen for him too? And tried to get him for himself? Do you even realise how deeply you've betrayed me? Your best friend since forever?!"

"S-Sak-"

"Shut the hell up, you sly bastard, nothing you say can fix this," she walked a step closer to him "You stole him, and now you think you deserve to love him? You're pathetic, he deserves better than some piece of shit like you!"

Heart racing, Naruto looked down with his eyes wide open. She knew he was in love with Sasuke… How?

But she was right. What was he thinking? Of course Sasuke deserved better. He deserved someone who wasn't such a pathetic loser. Someone with talent, someone interesting, someone kind. Naruto wasn't any of those three.  
He'd lied to the one person he cared most about.  
Naruto never lied.

But he'd lied to him.

"You know what? I won't get him. I know that now," she bowed her head, and stood before him silently. Suddenly, she looked up again, just enough for him to see the hatred in her eyes.  
"_But there's no way in hell I'm letting you have him, either_,"

'W-what…?'

"S-Sakura… Please, I-I don't know what you're saying, but, please, just p-please-!" his hands shook as he reached out for her, trying to convey to her his desperate fear. That terrifying feeling of loneliness.

As his frail finger touched her arm lightly, she harshly pulled back. She looked at him.

'Those eyes… No, no, no, no, s-stop…!'

"P-please, please, I-I can't lose anymore people now…! Please, please Sakura; don't make me be alone again now! Now that I've finally felt someone close!" he begged, feeling a single tear escaping his left eye. Shaking strongly now, he felt his knees become weak. The lump in his throat was growing and he felt the air be squeezed out of him, as if someone was choking his thin neck.

"For Gods sake… I'm sorry, I've told you that! Please, whatever it is you're planning on, don't do it..!"

As a tall figure came slowly closer, the pink haired girls' fury grew. With eyes of sorrow and malice, she smiled.

"You brought this upon yourself,"

As she ran over to the man walking toward them, Naruto could feel the world almost moving slower. As terrifying images and memories resurfaced, he felt his heart beat like mad. He saw the tall figure turning his head toward Naruto, before looking back at the girl next to him again, looking very angry. He said something. She replied.

'I can't even hear them… My ears, why aren't you working…?'

The man now looked puzzled. He tried objecting one more time, but she yelled out, so loudly even the only half conscious Naruto could hear it.

"Ask him for yourself then! He couldn't tell a lie if his life depended on it!"

'Sasuke…'

Giving the girl a cold look, he finally walked toward the blonde.

'It's happening again… It's completely different, yet it's exactly the same…'

Suddenly, he felt someone shaking him lightly.

"S…Sasuke…?"

"Naruto, what's wrong? What's going on? I get called out here by that witch over there, and now I find you like a mess… What the hell's going on? Why is she saying crazy stuff about you?"

…

'I'm… I'm…'

"Crazy stuff…?"

"She said you've been helping her spy on me. Manipulating me… So I'd fall for her…" he looked at the terrified blue eyes in front of him in disbelief, "I know she's lying, but why is she saying stuff like that?"

'I'm really…'

The black eyes of the Uchiha boy turned worried, "Why aren't you answering…?"

Naruto looked into his eyes. Sasuke started to look frightened, as if not wanting believe what the silence from the blonde in front of him meant.  
He let his blue eyes fall down to the ground, not bearing to see his beloved so frightened. He felt numb.

'I'm really… really losing him…'

"…I'm so sorry…"

For several long and painful seconds, there was nothing but silence. As the raven haired boy tried to comprehend what he'd just heard, he couldn't move. But slowly, he let go of the blonde in front of him. Feeling suddenly terrified again, Naruto watched as his beloveds eyes went from pained to empty, as he slowly turned and walked away.

'I'm so, so sorry…'

Feeling light headed, he watched as the two he cared for walked away in different directions. He watched Sasukes back until he couldn't see it any longer, and he knew, that he was gone.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

**A/N :**

Hi everyone. Resent updates with me lately. I even would've posted this last night, but the system here was messed up again. But now the mailing system is okay again :) That's good.

Gah, it's so early here now. Like, far too early :/ But hey, then I got to post this chappie, so I guess its okay.

Already started the next one, but I have an exam on friday (in physics, GAH) so I'm not sure when I'll be able to finish it.

Hmmm... this chapter is very short, isn't it? Hope its okay. I don't want to put any more in it anyway.

Poor Naruto. Poor Sasuke too.

Well, I won't keep on talking much more. Thanks for the reviews yet again, you know I love 'em :D And I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Tell me what you think of it :)

So, now all that's left to say is: 'till next time as always, lots and lots of love from P.Peachy :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The day after the revelation of the betrayal, Naruto had sat in his apartment all day long. He just sat on his bed, silently. Tears would flow down on his cheeks at the times when the feeling of being numb disappeared, and he felt completely powerless. Sweets wouldn't cheer him up now. The bare thought of them made him feel sick to his stomach.

Even now, a week later, he still felt numb, nauseous and at times very depressed. At school and work, he'd simply drift through the days, with no feelings at all. Keep up the facade that everything was okay, smiling on the outside, while almost unconscious on the inside. But when he walked in the door to his apartment, he would feel all the cooped up emotions of the day all attack him at once, pushing him into nauseating depression of guilt.  
He'd started to dread going home in the evening, and today was just the same. It was Saturday, and he'd taken an extra long shift to keep himself occupied. But now he was almost home, having left work only minutes earlier. As the large, cold building came into sight, he could already feel a small lump form in his throat.  
As he walked heavily up the stairs, he could feel the guilt rapidly increasing in his chest, quickly chasing away the tranquiliser of being busy. He walked in and sat down in front of his TV. It was good enough to get his mind a bit more absent for a while longer.  
But soon the feelings caught up to him, and he felt the darkness wrap itself around him. He grinded his teeth as he placed his hand on his forehead.

"God dammit," he swore, squinting his eyes shut.

'I can't believe I lost him… And it's entirely my own fault too…' he could feel his eyes get watery, but had managed to control the tears so they didn't fall, 'He'll never forgive me…'  
He leaned his back on the bed. Looking up at the ceiling, he sighed sadly.

'… It really was the same as that other time; and yet completely different too. It's so odd, the two incidents look nothing like each other on the outside, but it felt the same… And just like now, it was entirely my fault I ended up in that situation in the first place…'

He buried his face in his knees where he sat on the floor, as memories of a time long ago played themselves over in his mind.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Mommy!" a small blonde child, radiating brightness and joy ran up to a woman. She was beautiful, with long red hair and a face so fair and kind it made even the hardest worn man soften.

"There you are, honey!" she smiled a warm smile and bent down to pick up her little boy, "You almost made me worry, running off on your own again. Haven't I told you that you're not supposed to do that?" she smiled and blew air on his naked stomach, tickling him. Laughing happily, the small boy smiled at his mother, with pure content at being in her safe arms.

"But mommy, there was a doggie by the other cabin! I just wanted to go pet it," he held on to his mother while she carried him inside the small rented cabin.

"Naruto, you should never, ever go over to a dog, you never know how well they've been trained; he could bite you!" she frowned her brow, though still smiling warmly.

"I know, I'm sorry, mommy…" he apologized, looking honestly regretful. He didn't like making his mom worry, but it was such a cool dog, with brown and black fur and spiky ears! How could he not go over to it?

"It's okay, honey, just be more careful. Mommy and daddy love you so much, we just want our little boy to be safe," she kissed his cheek as she sat him down at the little table.

"But the doggie was nice, and the owner was nice too, he even said he had a boat! … But where's daddy?" he looked around the room.

"He went out on a small errand before we all go fishing," she replied. The small blonde boy watched happily as his mother put some cookies and lemonade in a bag, preparing for the day's fishing trip. He felt like the luckiest boy in the world. Not only were his mom and dad the nicest mom and dad ever, but they'd even taken him on summer vacation to the big lake! Now they could fish and swim and have barbeques and play all day long! And there was even a cute doggie here, and swings! How could it get better than that?

Feeling absolutely content, he continued to watch his mother pack for the trip to the lake a few minute walk away, feeling safe at the mere presence of his pretty redheaded protector.

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"Wow, this'll be great for our barbeque tomorrow, huh, Naruto?" a tall blonde man was walking up a path toward a camping area with his son on his shoulders and his beautiful wife walking next to them, carrying the newly caught fish and their fishing poles.

"Yeah!" the small boy exclaimed excitedly. They'd caught four fishes, and they'd been pretty big too.

"But daddy, what are we going to do when we get back to the cabin?" he asked from his high point of view.

"Well, I have a surprise for you! When I went shopping today, I bought some candy! So tonight we can play a board game and eat lots of candy! What do you say?" he smiled up at his boy.

"Yay!" he exclaimed happily, almost jumping on his fathers broad shoulders, "Can we play the one with the dinosaurs that have to get to their caves?" he bent down next to his fathers head.

"Of course! Whatever you like," he smiled as his little boy kissed his cheek happily.

"Yay!" he sang again.

As the three happily walked back toward the cabin, Naruto couldn't believe how fun this day had been. And luckily, it wasn't over yet! They would play games and sit in the living room and watch a bit of TV before getting ready for bed, just like the day before. And when he was supposed to go to sleep, he'd sneak up to the bedroom door and look out into the living room at how his mom and dad were so happy together. When he'd see them kiss, he'd sneak back into bed again, sure of how wonderful and safe the world was today too.

But today, the world wasn't so wonderful.

And definitely not safe.

"Hey there, folks… And hey little boy, you came over to visit my dog earlier didn't you?" a shabby looking man walked toward them, looking at Naruto where he walked hand in hand with his mother, having just been put down by his father.

"Hi! Yeah, that was me!" Naruto smiled at him, tugging his mother's hand, "His dog's so cool! It's big and has spiky ears!"

"How cool," she smiled warmly at her son, before turning her attention to the man approaching them, "You're staying at the cabin next to ours, right?" she asked politely.

"Yes," he answered, smiling at her, "You people have such a nice car too! Is that a vintage car?" He pointed to their car a few meters away.

"Yes, I bought it old and dirty, but fixed it right back up again," Narutos father replied, "Naruto here helped me, too," he smiled at his boy.

"Mhm!" Naruto nodded proudly.

"Wow, such a good little boy," the man said, his eyes slowly turning a bit colder, "You know, I had a daughter that looked just like you. Blonde and always so excited about the smallest things,"

"Really?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yeah… But you know what happened to her?"

"No, what?"

"She was stolen from me… There was a fire, and she died, my poor little girl died…"

Naruto felt scared. He tightened his grip on his mother's hand, and she did too.

"I'm so sorry, that's just awful," Narutos father replied, eyebrows now a bit creased.

"Yeah… God damn fire department couldn't get their asses over there quick enough. They let my little girl die!" The man's eyes became wild. As tears flowed down his dirty cheeks, Narutos mother picked up Naruto. As the man's hand found its way into his pocket, Narutos father, looked very worried, and sent a glance over to his wife. Naruto didn't understand what he meant, but the look on his mothers face told him that she obviously did.

"You… you don't deserve to have what I've lost! My daughter should live! You idiots don't deserve her!" the man cried loudly, a few people nearby noticing the groups presence as fear struck all. Out of his pocket, came the doom of a family of three.

As Narutos father jumped forward to stop him, Narutos mother ran with all her might, as fast as she could, clenching her little boy in her arms as tears fell down her frightened face.

Scared like never before, Naruto cried silently, hands grasping his mothers' thin blouse while she ran to her limit.  
'What's happening…?'

"BANG"

Turning sharply, his mother looked mortified. As tears fell endlessly down her now pale cheeks, she turned again and continued running, trying to reach the main lobby of the camps administration. Pressing her little boys head softly to her shoulder, trying to shield his eyes from all the frightening things happening, she whispered, "It'll be okay, sweetie, everything's going to be okay," Her voice almost broke, but for her little boy, she would be strong.

As she flung open the doors of the empty lobby, she ran over to where the phones were and picked it up. Pressing some numbers, she put her boy down.

"Sit here, and be quiet, mommy's gonna protect you," she said firmly.

Naruto was terrified, what was happening? What was that bang? And why did his mom look so scared and sad after it? Something hadn't happened to dad, had it?

He was shaking violently, terrified. As his mother talked a little to whoever she was calling, he only picked up a few words like 'Please come quickly… a man with a gun… _shot_,'  
But then, she was cut off, as the raging man came inside too, and aimed the metal pipe at her. As Naruto heard the doors bell ring, he looked up at his mother, whose expression froze for a moment, before a deafening new bang was heard, and blood spattered everywhere around him. As she fell to the ground, coughing blood, Naruto thought only one thing.

'Mommy… She's dying because of me…'

She grabbed Naruto's hand, and held him closely, trying to shield him.

'If I just listened to her, and didn't go over to that man… If only I didn't talk to him…'

"Mommy!" he screamed as loudly as he could, his heart breaking into small pieces as his mothers life slowly ended as red blood was all he could see.

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"I'm so sorry for your loss," a woman's voice said.

"Uh…uhu…uuuhuhuuu…" someone sobbed.

"The police told us the man who killed your daughter was insane. He'd lost his child in a fire a year ago, and wanted your grandson to replace her after seeing him… They had to shoot his leg to make him surrender and give your grandson back after kidnapping him. Luckily he didn't get too far, the police found him right after they came. Unfortunately, your daughter and her husbands life were not possible to save, they'd suffered too significant damage to be resuscitated…" the woman spoke again.

The sobbing continued, the tears stained by heavy bitterness.

Slowly, Naruto managed to open his eyes a little. He quickly realised the woman, whoever she was, was talking about him. He remembered what'd happened the instant he'd heard the other person crying. As his heart bled, he felt the tears unable to pour out, not having any left.  
As his vision slowly cleared, he looked up at the figure crying.

"G-…Grandma…?" he spoke, tiredly.

As the sobbing continued, the other woman, who he now saw was a nurse, looked down on him, smiling.

"Oh, your awake, sweetie," she said, "How are you feeling, poor thing?"

But Naruto couldn't answer that. He gasped for air, as the lump in his throat grew along with the immense guilt he felt.

'Mommy…! Daddy! No, no, no, no!' his heart cried, 'Don't be dead, please, don't leave me! I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I want you back…!'

"I'll never take him in my care," the other woman then spoke.

'Grandma…?'

"You… you… my little girl, my dear, beautiful girl… It's your fault she died…!"

And as the nurse objected greatly, Naruto couldn't hear anything but the sore pounding of his heart as he saw the eyes of his now only family.  
The eyes of hatred and coldness.

His chest ached as he realised, that it truly, truly, was his entire fault. He'd killed his parents. He'd killed them. They died because he had done something wrong. And because of that, he was now all alone, rejected by his own grandmother.

'I'm all alone… And it's really… all my fault…'

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Thirteen years older, the boy was again all alone. Because of his own actions, he'd made another person close to him reject him with all their heart.

His throat ached as tears fell down from his sorrowful eyes. It was different completely different. But the loneliness of yet again having no one, was as unbearable as it had always been. At least Sakura had filled up some of that lonely gap, but now he'd lost her too. But what was tens, no, hundreds of times worse, was losing Sasuke. Sasuke had made him feel happy. No one had ever made him happy like that before, happy to the core of his entire being. For the first time since he'd lost his family, he'd been truly happy again. And now, just like the last time, he'd managed to ruin it all by one careless incident coming back to bite him in the ass.

"Sasuke…" he whispered.

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At the Uchiha mansion, the aura of a big black cloud seemed to hang over the entire property.

Sasuke was lying in his bed in his room. In exception of when he ate or went to the bathroom, or on the weekdays went to school, this was all he'd been doing all week. Just lay in bed all day long when he didn't have to do anything else. The rest of his family were a bit worried, he didn't talk at all this last week. He was just quiet, just utterly silent. To Itachis big worry, Sasuke didn't even care if he insulted him of talked about the blonde he was obviously so fond of. If he did mention the blonde, his little brother just seemed to get even more depressed, without even replying. Nothing he did or said made much change in his brothers' low demeanour. At least not in a positive way. Itachi had never been in a situation like this before.  
And no wonder, either. Sasuke had never been in this horrible situation before, with a broken heart and all. Because, even though it sounded lame and very cliché, Sasuke had indeed unwillingly come to the conclusion that he was a bit heartbroken. He couldn't really find a better way of describing it.  
He felt a lump in his throat at the worst times, but an Uchiha didn't damn _cry_.

Miserable as he was, he'd had a good deal of time to think about it all. He loved Naruto. And he felt absolutely betrayed by him. He felt tricked and humiliated and used. The fact that he'd agreed to try and get Sasuke to like Sakura, was such a huge break of trust. He felt vulnerable wondering what the stupid pink haired girl knew of him. He'd always been so upright with Naruto. Parts of him he always hid, he'd shown him…  
He wondered how much Naruto had meant of what he'd shown Sasuke of himself. Was he who he'd been with him? Were the cute blushes fake? The hugs? The words? At the same time as he seriously didn't believe that they weren't honest, the doubt had now gotten rooted in him, and he wasn't so sure after all.

And this, the sureness of Naruto being honest, and at the same time having this horrible doubt, was what confused him so much.

But he loved Naruto, and being without him, not talking with him at school or meeting up in afternoons or weekends, was tearing him apart.

But he felt so betrayed.

Even if he was miserable without him, he was so hurt by what he'd done, not to mention severely pissed, that he just couldn't forgive him.

But not only that! The blonde hadn't even tried to apologize! And that didn't just make him angry, but also doubtful yet again of the blue eyed boys' feelings. Didn't he want to make up? Didn't he care if they ever became friends again? Become close again? Was Sasuke that unimportant to him? And did that mean he really was just acting all that time?

If that was the case, even the mighty Uchiha pride would perhaps crumble and let a tear or two out…

But Sasuke couldn't believe that. It couldn't be true. No one can fake honesty like that… Closeness like that…  
And seeing him at school told him also that the blonde was indeed the one Sasuke had gotten to know, and not just faking it all. He smiled, yes. But, they were sad, artificial smiles. Sasuke still knew his smiles.

And angry as he was, sad as he was, that still made him a bit hopeful.  
The worst scenario there could be, was if Naruto didn't care at all. If he was sorry about what he'd done, and he truly had been honest around Sasuke and didn't want to lose him, then maybe, just maybe, Sasuke could forgive him.

Because, even if he was angry and upset, he still loved his blonde.

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One week later, Naruto had been forbidden to work. He was seriously annoyed at this. He had actually been declined work for the entire week, and was now facing another three days of no work after this one.  
After he'd finished working the Tuesday prior, his boss had pulled him into the back and told him to take a week off. Naruto had of course heavily objected, but to no avail. His boss had told him he was actually 'too efficient and not making enough mistakes' for things to be normal.

'What kind of a boss says that anyway?!' he though irritated to himself. But it was true. Now that he was so miserable most of the time, he usually just tuned out and just did what he was supposed to, without letting emotions and sad thoughts get to him.

His boss said he was worried. That he wanted him to take the days off to think and get whatever was wrong, right again. Naruto had then almost objected, but somehow just couldn't. His heart felt heavy again, and he'd just nodded and left.

And now he was stuck _thinking_ all day long.

Thinking while depressed is seldom very pleasant, as Naruto knew only too well.

He felt awful, just like he had for the past two weeks. And now the weekend was here too, and even school couldn't distract him.

Today was especially bad. He felt almost immobilised of the mere nausea from feeling so sad and guilty. He figured now, that guilt had to be the worst emotion there is in the world. Nothing is quite like it. If you're angry, you feel like you can do something at least. It may even help just to punch a wall. And if your sad, then you can cry and cry and be comforted without feeling bad for it. But when you feel guilty, no amount of comfort helps, because you know you really don't deserve it. And you feel powerless. The hurt you've caused, teares so much on you and keeps you so low, that you feel like it'll never get better, or at least not until its all fixed. And even then you know it'll stay with you.

Yes. Guilt had to be one of the absolutely worst feelings in the world. Next to the sorrow of losing someone close forever, maybe. He wasn't quite sure. But no matter where it sat on the scale of horrid emotions, it felt devastating right now.

He'd hurt Sasuke so badly, he felt like he'd throw up when he thought about it. As the days had passed, his feeling of sorrow for losing Sasuke had been overwhelmed by guilt for hurting him. He could blame no one but himself for feeling lonely and for feeling sad at not having Sasuke in his life anymore, and he knew Sasuke must be terribly hurt now too. He knew Sasuke was. He knew.

And that had led him to a new thought. If Sasuke was upset too, maybe it'd be okay for Naruto to go apologize?  
Did he deserve to be forgiven?  
Would that be a selfish thing to want?  
Because he wanted it with his entire being. He wanted nothing, nothing more than to be close to Sasuke again, for him not to hate him, for him not to be sad because of Naruto.

Sasuke should never be sad.

He sighed where he sat in his living room. He didn't deserve Sasuke's forgiveness. He didn't at all. Sasuke shouldn't forgive him, really, for what he had done was such an intimate betrayal, that even if Sasuke did forgive him, Naruto would probably still be worn of guilt, but then for Sasuke being too nice with someone as awful as himself.

But, Sasuke really deserved an apology. And…

It was so selfish, he knew that…

But…

He _truly_, _deeply_, wished that they could be friends again…

Be close again…

Sit next to each other. Eat together. Watch movies. Play Tekken.

Just be close again, along with all the wonderful things that meant.

With this drop of newfound resolve, Naruto stood up.

He knew what he had to do.

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Panting, a slender blonde boy stood in front of a pair of very intimidating iron gates. He was still only wearing a loose t-shirt revealing his neck line and a pair of jeans. In his rush to not lose his small amount of courage, he hadn't even taken the time to put on a jacket.  
Shivering from the cold, he rang the bell. After only a short moment, a man's voice sounded.

"Uchiha residence, who am I speaking with?"

'Itachi…' Naruto thought relieved. If Sasuke was the one to answer, he might not have let him in. This way, he could at least get on the property.

"Hello, Itachi," he said, "It's me, Naruto,"

"Ooooh, finally," the man moaned, "I thought you'd never come over! Please, cheer him up, okay? He's such a tension maker nowadays," he said, before opening the gates. As they swung open, Naruto was about to run inside, before he heard Itachi say one more thing.

"Go to the back, he's in his little hiding spot for once,"

'Hiding spot… The greenhouse?' Naruto thought to himself as he started running up the road. As the gates closed behind him, he ran for the little thick of trees where he knew Sasukes secret greenhouse was to be found.

'What am I going to tell him?' he thought to himself. His heart was no longer just drumming because of his tired body, but also of nerves. What would he do if Sasuke rejected him now?  
But he couldn't worry about that now. He had to just try. Just… speak from the heart. Say what he wanted to say.

He walked up the thin path toward the glass house, and stood waiting a few meters away. He couldn't yet see Sasuke, but still felt terrified. It was like the ultimate moment of truth, now or never.  
Yes or no.

Swallowing hardly, he walked up and knocked on the door as he saw his beloved sitting on the ground next to some plants.  
He watched carefully as his raven haired head turned around and felt his insides twist at how his surprised expression quickly turned cold in pain.

He merely looked away, as if not welcoming the blonde in, but still not locking him out.

Naruto felt a lump in his throat already start to build up, and hurriedly opened the door.

"…Hi," he said quietly as he closed the door behind him. He didn't know what he should say.

"…Hello," Sasuke replied emotionlessly.

Seeing the one he loved like this, broke Narutos heart once again. He could tell how deeply hurt Sasuke was. Forcing a threatening tear back into his eye, he walked over and sat next to Sasuke, without getting too close.

"Um…" he started after a while. He felt so unsure of what to say now.

Sasuke didn't make it easier. He just continued doing his thing, as if not noticing the blondes attempt to make contact.  
The truth was that he was very surprised at him coming over, and a small gleam of hope lit up in him, but he felt so hurt just by looking at him, that he didn't want to make things easy for him either.  
He'd hurt him.

Naruto started to fiddle with his t-shirt. This was bad. Sasuke was already practically rejecting him already.

"If you're not going to say something, then I'd rather be left alone," Sasuke then said, not even looking at the boy next to him.

At this, Naruto felt the tear from a moment ago fall from his eye on the side furthest away from Sasuke. Hearing his voice being so cold toward him hurt so much.

"…I'm sorry…" he whispered.

"…Sorry for what?" Sasuke replied coldly.

Narutos lips hardened.

"I'm sorry for… everything… I didn't… I mean… I-"

"Doesn't even sound like you know what you did wrong, to me," Sasuke stood up, and walked toward the door.

'No, don't leave now! Not yet!' Narutos mind chaotically yelled.

"S-stop!" Naruto ran after him and grabbed his hand. As Sasuke still stood turned away from him, he knew this was it.

"Please, please… forgive me… I don't deserve it, I know, I really don't… But I'm so, so sorry, I swear… I never should have betrayed you like that, and I will never forgive myself for it…"

He let his gaze fall to the ground.

"I'm so sorry… I hate myself for hurting you like this, for betraying you like this… The only thing I can say in my defence is that I made the agreement early, before I knew you, before we became friends. It's been tearing me apart for so long, and a while ago, I broke it off, far too late, of course, but I… Oh, I'm so sorry, I just, she's my friend you know? And now I even lost her too… But that's not the important thing now. Sasuke, I'm most sorry about losing you! These past days, I even realised something. It's not being alone again that made me so sad and miserable after that day, it's… it's…!" he took a deep breath. As tears fell down on his tanned cheeks, he continued.

"Sasuke, it's being without you that makes me so miserable!"

He felt almost numb.

"I want… I just want… to be friends again…"

He frowned as the lump in his throat became too big to bear.

"I want to be close again!"

And as his sobs became more audible, Sasuke felt his heart break too. He was so happy of hearing this. Naruto, he knew he was honest. And hearing him so upset, made him now feel like his heart bled. Naruto truly was too wonderful to be true, even if he had messed up this once.

He quickly turned around, grabbing the blondes' thin wrist, and before Naruto knew what was happening, he'd caught his lips in a soft kiss.

As he felt Sasukes delicate lips on his, moist and amazing as always, he couldn't stop the tears from falling. They kept tracing down his tanned cheeks as Narutos sore heart felt happier than ever.

"Don't cry when I'm kissing you, Naruto. How's that supposed to make me feel?" Sasuke said quietly while his lips still touched Narutos.

"I'm sorry," Naruto giggled half choked from the crying.

"I'm not that bad a kisser, am I?" he smiled softly at him, lips still in contact.

"No, you're a great kisser…"

And at that note, their tongues found their way into the others mouth yet again. They hungrily tasted the other for the first time in far too long, tongues searching the others mouth excitedly.

Happy like he'd feared the past days he'd never be again, Sasuke wanted to feel more of his blonde marvel. How his tanned fingers were running through Sasukes hair made the black eyed boy nearly go mad. He'd been Naruto-deprived for far too long. He let his hands find their way up Narutos too big t-shirt and touched his soft skin. How it was possible to be this soft was beyond him. He embraced the blonde in a tight grip, letting his hands travel over his arched back. As he ran his pale hands trough Narutos hair while pushing down on him lightly to kiss even harder, he heard him moan. Continuing the kiss for a while longer, the Uchiha finally let go of the blonde's lips, who, to his delight, then leaned forward to get more. But not now. If he continued much more, he'd lose control. And this wasn't the time to lose control.  
Not yet. But some day.

He hugged Naruto tightly, pressing the blonde to his body.

"God, I've missed you,"

And to that, Naruto dug his face into his neck and let his lips lightly kiss the Uchiha's collar bone.

"I've missed you too…"

As the moon slowly rose on the night sky, the two boys still stood in the greenhouse, embracing one another.

As different as they may be, they were both thinking the exact same thing.

'I never want to let go again,'

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**A/N : **Hey everyone!

Woohoo XD I'm so happy...!

Yay, they're finally friends again:D Yaaaaaaaaay!

Anyway! For those who might care to know, my physics examn went wonderfully, against all odds (the tasks were sickely difficult), so now I only have assignments left and one day of school before my vacation begins :D

But yeah, long chappie, sorry about that XD;;; Hope you liked it anyway, it was helluva lot of fun to write. I loved writing it. So! Tell me what you think, ne?

Hmmm, I don't think I have any more stuff to ramble on about right now... So let's just call it a day :)

So, until next time, as aaaalways, lots and lots and lots and lots of looove from P.Peachy :D


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Two author notes today, one here at the top, and one at the bottom. I hope you'll take your time to read the bottom one too. Anyway, this is why I made a top one:

_The Final Chapter of 'Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover'_

I hope you enjoy it! Thank you!

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**Chapter 13**

"I bought you some chocolate cake, since it's your favourite,"

As Naruto looked up from his sketchbook, he was greeted with the smile he wanted most to see, along with the food he wanted most to eat.

"You bought me cake!" he exclaimed happily as the handsome Uchiha boy put the plate down in front of him and sat down.

"Yup," he replied, "I thought you might want some,"  
Smiling, Sasuke watched the excited blonde next to him in the cafeteria at Konoha College as he got the fork and started digging into the dark chocolate cake.

"Yuuuuuum," Naruto moaned in delight.

Sasuke laughed, "That good, huh?"

"Mhm!" the blonde smiled, shoving another spoonful of cake into his mouth.

As he continued eating, Sasuke noticed the book next to him and reached over for it.

"Can I see? It's your sketchbook, right?" he asked, holding it in his hands.

"Oh, yeah. You can look," he smiled warmly.  
He wasn't so scared of the chance of someone seeing it anymore after Sasuke had made him feel so good about it. He wasn't about to go around and wave it in peoples faces, but he could at least bring it with him when he went out of the apartment too.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd ever bring it somewhere," Sasuke said, opening the book, "But I'm glad you are. You should be proud of this, it really is amazing,"

Blushing a bit, Naruto quickly regained his composure and replied, "Heh, I bet you only say that because you like that one with the guy looking away," He giggled heartily and looked over at Sasuke.

"Well, as flattered as I am, and even if that one just happens to be my favourite, the other pictures are amazing too," he smiled back. He still got excited just thinking about the fact that Naruto had drawn him, it'd made him so happy.

Viewing all the pages, Sasuke took it all in with delight. And this time, Naruto hadn't minded that he watched at all. He wasn't scared anymore. And that made Sasuke happier than anything. Knowing that Naruto had gotten a bit more self confidence made him want to smile, all the time.

"You like it?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke while eating the last pieces of his cake.

"Of course, it's great, just like it was the last time I saw any of your drawings. I especially like this one," he pointed to a girl in a fantasy kind of style.

"I was hoping you'd like one of those! They're my own character concepts, to try and evolve my skills," he said, grinning happily.

"Well, it looks great," Sasuke smiled back at him.  
'God, he's just so damn cute… I want so badly to just tell him how much I love him, now that he's back,' Sasuke thought to himself, sighing. The joy of being reunited with his best friend was overwhelming, but now he felt a new longing.

"Oh, hey, look!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, pulling Sasuke suddenly closer by his collar, "Look, it's Hinata and Kiba!"

As Naruto pointed to where the couple sat, Sasuke couldn't help but notice just how delightfully close they were now. And the way Naruto had just jerked him toward him… Sent shivers down his spine.  
Not really caring too much about the people Naruto now stared at, Sasuke let his eyes land on the blondes lips. They looked so delicious… He knew they were too, and that didn't make the craving any better.

"Hey, hey, look at 'em…" Naruto trailed off, staring at the boy and girl at the other end of the room, "Don't they look all close and comfy?" he asked, grinning slyly.

Sasuke shook his head with a smile, "Maybe, I don't know,"

"What?" Naruto asked in disbelief, "You don't see it? Seriously, I bet they've finally started going out! Gah, finally Kiba, about damn time," he smiled.

Standing up, Naruto grabbed his things and took Sasukes hand. The raven haired boy blushed just slightly from the unexpected contact and looked up at his blonde friend.

"Come on, let's go over!" Naruto smiled at him, trying his best not to blush at his own brave move. Even if they had kissed and hugged up to several times already, physical contact like this was still enough to shake him up a bit. He loved Sasuke so much, but not having a more intimate relationship with him made him feel like he was doing something slightly forbidden each time he touched him. Even just holding his hand felt like he was doing something he wasn't allowed to; as if he was stealing a touch.

But damn, even this felt really good.

Sasuke stood up as he shook off the startled feeling, and the two walked over.

"Hi Kiba, hi Hinata!" Naruto sang cheerfully as the arrived at their table.

The two looked up at him, slightly startled. They were obviously not paying attention to their surroundings, something Naruto noticed with a smile.

"Hello, Naruto-kun!" Hinata smiled, polite as always.

"Hey Naruto," Kiba said, blushing a little. He was shy when it came to who he liked, and Naruto coming over when he was with Hinata was a bit embarrassing. He hadn't even seen them coming over, and knowing Naruto, he'd take much pleasure in that.

"Kiba-kuuuun," Naruto grinned, Kiba hated it when _Naruto_ called him by that, "Are the two of you dating?"

Instantly, Hinata blushed like mad, looking away. Kiba blushed too, giving Naruto a glare.

"I kid, I kid," Naruto said, smiling at his two friends reactions, "Couldn't help myself, sorry. You just look so sweet together,"  
Hinata blushed even more at this (if possible), but to both Naruto and Kibas pleasant surprise, she also smiled.

"Well, was there anything you wanted?" Kiba asked, wanting to be alone with Hinata again. However, just as he asked, his eyes landed on Narutos hand. Raising an eyebrow in question at his blonde friend, Naruto blushed a little. Sasuke noticed this little exchange as well, and expected to lose the pleasant warmth in his palm any moment.

However, it didn't.

Naruto straightened his back, "Nope, just came over to say hi," He knew this was very daring of him, but he wanted to do it. Even if Kiba now maybe got a clue too, he hoped Sasuke would notice as well. He wanted so bad to confess to him. He could send him small hint for the time being, at least.  
To make even surer that the raven caught on, he squeezed his hand gently.  
Sasuke blushed, a faint pink arising to his cheeks.

'What is he doing?'

"Well, we have to get going! Classes start in a few minutes. Bye, lovebirds," Naruto taunted slyly as he and Sasuke started walking away.

"Shut up, Naruto, get away," Kiba growled, half heartedly. As Naruto turned around, sticking his tongue out at him, he had to smile. Naruto was just full of energy and surprises, wasn't he?

"Uhm, Kiba-kun," Hinata started shyly, still a faint blush at her cheeks, "Was Naruto… did he just… um-"

"Hold the Uchiha guys' hand?" he completed her sentence.

She nodded.

"…Yeah, I think he did," he said, still a bit baffled about it. He hadn't expected Naruto to be… well, gay.

"…Well…" Hinata started, smiling while looking after them, "…They look sweet together,"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

As Christmas slowly closed in on the city of Konoha, one raven and one blonde still hadn't managed to do what they had tried setting their mind to for several weeks now.

Naruto kept losing his nerve whenever he wanted to tell his friend his true feelings. His mind would scream at him, telling him that Sasuke couldn't possibly love him. Like him, yes, but who knows how deep his feelings are? What if Naruto just ended up pushing him away by coming on too strong? And at the end of this thought process, he'd be at his wits end, giving up altogether for the time being.

Sasuke didn't put himself down as much. His problem was rather that of just simply not being brave enough. Somehow, whenever he decided to do it and looked the blonde in the eyes, his stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies, and he felt light-headed.

Today, December 20th, the two were out shopping together, getting the last presents ready for Christmas. Sasuke didn't care much for shopping (all the girls in the store would drive him mad), so he had quite a few left. Naruto only had one left, the one for his boss.

"Tell me again why you're buying a present for your boss, of all people?" Sasuke asked him in disbelief. No one buys presents for their bosses, do they? At least not for anything other than sucking up, and Naruto was hardly one to kiss ass for personal gain.

"Because," Naruto started overbearingly, "he puts up with me, no matter how lousy I do my job; he always knows I'm doing my best. He gives me good treatment, and I just want to repay him now that the holiday for it is here,"

They were currently in a book store, on their way to the back.

"How long have you worked there anyway?" Sasuke said, not paying much attention to where they were.

"Hmm… About five years I think," Naruto said, picking a book out of the bookshelves.

"Wow, that much huh… Um… Why are you holding that book?" Sasuke said as he noticed the name and cover of the small book Naruto was holding.

A deep blush crept up on Narutos face, "Ah! Oh, um, it's not for me, oh, I-uh, it-it's for my boss!"

Sasuke stared at him in deisbelief, "You're buying your boss… a book with only pictures of naked women?"

Naruto laughed nervously, "He's a pervert, and this has all the big pin up girls best photos in 'em, both the old kind and newer, more… well, naked stuff," blush still firmly in place, he continued, "I saw him staring at a poster of it one day, and overheard him telling a perverted customer about it, and he seemed to want it too,"

Sasuke looked over Naruto. He was this uncomfortable, but still wanted to buy this stupid book for his boss. And boss, of all people.

'He's too sweet, cares too much about everyone else,' Sasuke thought to himself. He loved every part of Naruto, and his caring side was no exception. It just made him even more incredible.

"Well, all I can say is that your boss should be thankful, and I don't mean for getting the book," he smiled at Naruto. The blonde smiled warmly back, happy to be appreciated by his beloved.

"Hey, hey," Naruto started after they'd paid for the book and trekked out into the snowy landscape of the streets, "I have something for you for Christmas!" He smiled radiantly at his black eyed friend next to him.

Sasuke laughed lightly, "Well that's nice of you,"

"You didn't get me anything?" Naruto pouted, looking up at his friend with big, blue puppy dog eyes.

"Don't worry, I got your present already," Sasuke smiled. He'd recently discovered just how much the blonde liked getting presents, and knew he was looking forward to Christmas. It didn't even have to be expensive; Naruto just enjoyed it when someone wanted to give him something, for the thought itself of someone giving him something. Sasuke figured it was because Naruto viewed presents as a sign of someone thinking of you, and caring. And knowing how he grew up, Sasuke noticed how Naruto cherished so many signs of caring most people took for granted.  
Because after they'd made up that night, Naruto had opened his heart like never before, and told him all the heartbreaking things that had happened to him as a child in an attempt to let Sasuke understand a little more. When hearing his story, Sasuke barely managed to restrain his tears. That this wonderful person should feel so much pain was so wrong. As they had sat next to each other on the cold floor of the greenhouse, Sasuke could only hold his arm around the blondes frail, yet strong body, trying to convey to him that he wasn't alone any longer.

And today too, as he knew he always would, he wanted to keep telling the blonde that his presence was wanted.

"But," Sasuke started as they walked side by side down the white and crowded street, "You won't get to see that present for four days,"

"Oh yeah, your family opens presents and celebrates on Christmas Eve instead of Christams day right? I always thought that tradition sounded nice," Naruto cut in while looking through the shop windows on his sides.

"Yes, I prefer that way. It's much more pleasant to sit around the fireplace and open gifts in the evening. You're full from dinner and deserts, and when it's dark outside and warm and light inside, it feels much more special, in my opinion," Sasuke replied while examining at some expensive looking women's wardrobes in the fancy store they just entered.

"Sounds nice… So this is what you're thinking of buying your mother then, huh?" Naruto asked as Sasuke felt the fabric.

"Holy-!" the blonde nearly yelled, shocked in his discovery, "This is really expensive!" he whispered.

"Maybe not too cheap, no, but this it's not too bad," Sasuke smiled at his friends reaction, "Dad's buying her jewellery, you should see the sick price tag on that,"

"Really? Why don't you just buy cheaper stuff? It's not the price that matters," Naruto said while fiddling with his mittens, not very comfortable. He was nearly terrified of touching anything in here at the chance of ruining it or something like that and thus being forced to pay for it.

"I know, but when I have the money and see something I'd like to give someone, price, as you say, really doesn't matter," he smiled.

"Y-You… didn't spend a lot on me… right?" Naruto asked nervously as he carefully manoeuvred toward his friend.

Sasuke smiled slyly, "Now, now, don't you know you're never supposed to let the receiver know what the price of the gift is?"

"But, I don't have a lot of money, so my present for you isn't all that expensive, and I don't want you to spend so much on me when I can't do the same back…"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder from where he now stood by the cash register. Naruto looked uncomfortable, and he didn't want him to be… It was a present, he shouldn't worry so much.

"Relax; it's not so bad, okay? Besides, shouldn't it be up to me to decide the price? I am the one buying it, after all. All you have to do is accept," he said while turning around. As he finished the sentence, Naruto could have sworn he put a little extra pressure on the last part…

"…Okay, I will," Naruto replied carefully.

As a smile graced his blondes lips, Sasuke decided to ask something he'd wanted to for the entire day. As the left the warmth of the store and stood on the street with snow falling silently down, he grabbed his friends hand, and turned him toward himself.

"Naruto,"

"U-uhm… y-yes?"

"You… you don't have any plans for Christmas Eve, right?"

"Oh! Um… no, not really…"

As hands gripped firmer, Naruto could feel his cheeks heat up by Sasukes intense gaze.

"Well, then, would you like to spend it with me?"

'Christmas Eve…?' Naruto thought ecstatically, a huge smile forming on his face.

"Yes! That'd be so much fun!" he said while jumping forward into the Uchihas arms in a big, grateful hug.

"I'd love to!"

A faint pink tainted the Uchihas pale cheeks at the warmth of his friend as he hugged carefully back.

"…Good. Thanks,"  
'…Maybe I can do it then…'

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Four days later, Naruto stood nervously on the outside of the Uchiha mansions iron gates. Fiddling with the bag he was holding, the small blonde boy tried to decide whether or not to ring the doorbell or not.

"…"

Looking into his bag for the umpteenth time that afternoon, his blue eyes made sure the gift was still safely tucked inside, as it had been when he checked the last time, thirty seconds ago.

Sighing, he closed his eyes in realisation of how stupid he had to look, pining outside his friends' house on Christmas Eve, scared to go in. But who wouldn't be nervous? It was Christmas Eve, for Gods sake, the most loving day of the year, when you gather the ones you love and show your caring for them by giving gifts, and everyone has a wonderful time. And Sasuke had invited _him_.

'Anyone would be nervous,' he thought stubbornly to himself.

…

"Gah!" he screamed, forcing his finger forward in a burst of courage, hitting the bell of the door a bit too hard.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" he whined, holding his finger carefully. As pain shot up and down his hand, he tried bending it gently, to check if it was okay, while waiting for an answer from the speaker on the gate.

Moments later, as he'd just realised how dumb it'd been to hit the bell so hard, he finally got a reply.

"Uchiha residence, to whom am I speaking this lovely afternoon?" a familiar voice sounded.

'Does he just sit and wait by that thing all day, or what?!' Naruto thought as he recognised just whose voice it was. Itachi was scary, he always said something that Naruto had no idea how to react to.

"Hello Itachi," Naruto said timidly, "It's me, Naruto,"

"Ah, yes, my brother told me he had invited you tonight! Lovely to have you here, come right in," he said cheerfully, as the gates opened. Naruto hurried inside as soon as the opening was big enough for him, and walked hurriedly up toward the house. He was very nervous and almost tripped over his own feet in the thick snow on the unplowed road.

He loved the snow. When it fell like it did now, everything was so quiet, every sound muffled by the snow. It was so peaceful. Even to the eyes, it was all calm and white. Of course, he loved sun and warmth too, but something was just so special about the winter snow. The peace and quiet, the white snow glittering everywhere, how the trees were weighed down by the thick layers on their braches and the feeling of running into an untouched area of snow, being the one to get to mark it first.  
And the blankness of it all, seemed to cover up all other thoughts in his mind, making him blissfully calm.  
Even now, he could feel his heartbeat slow down from its racing when he looked away from the house and let his eyes fall on the snow around him where he walked up the road. But soon the road came to an end, as the big mansion doors loomed before him. Before he could think another thought however, the doors sprung up, and in front of him stood Itachi.

"There you are, pet of my brother," he said, grinning.

Instantly Naruto blushed, "P-pet?"

"Why yes! You're like a cute little kitten, sweet, clumsy and you love life!" he sang while letting Naruto inside, before adding with a smug smile on his face "And I bet my brother has the power to make you purr, too,"

At hearing this, his blush grew deep red and the poor boy nearly fell over.

"W-w-what?!" he asked in panic, embarrassed like never before. To be told something like that… It felt very condescending, and incredibly annoyingly accurate.

But before Itachi had the chance to make him even more uncomfortable, a black haired sprinter suddenly passed by, grabbing the blue eyed boys arm and thus freeing him from Itachis grip.  
Slightly dizzy, Naruto saw Sasuke shake his head as the two stopped inside the living room.

"Sorry about not being the one to open the door, I bet Itachi was as much of an ass today as he always is," he said tiredly while letting go of the blondes arm. Opening his eyes again, he looked at Naruto while smiling.

"Merry Christmas, Naruto," he said happily.

"Oh, yeah! Merry Christmas, Sasuke!" Naruto sang happily back, "Wow, it looks so pretty in here…" he said while looking around himself. The entire living room, as well as the rest of the house, was decorated in a very tasteful and cosy manner, with all kinds of Christmas decorations. And the tree was huge, with lots of lights and décor and a beautiful star on top and dozens of presents underneath.

"Thanks," Sasuke said while sitting down on the sofa in front of the fireplace.

"Oh, hey, should I put my present for you under the tree?" the blue eyed boy asked, looking over at the tree nearby.

"Yes, go ahead," the raven haired boy replied warmly, "Can't wait to see what it is…"

"Ahaha, well, don't get your hopes up too high, it's nothing big… And it's kinda stupid," Naruto replied with a soft blush and laugh.

Just as he was putting it down however, he lost his grip a little, and caught the present as it nearly fell with his right hand.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, nearly dropping it again. Hurrying, he placed it under the tree and stood up while holding his finger.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked as he stood up and walked toward his blonde with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, I just, kinda, hurt my finger a bit a little while ago," he said awkwardly, still embarrassed at how he got hurt.

Sasuke took his hand gently in his and carefully touched Narutos finger. Suddenly, he pinched it a little while straightening it, making Naruto wince in pain.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow," he whined, making the raven haired boy scowl.

"This is sprained," he said sternly.

"…O-oh?" Naruto said awkwardly, not really sure how to reply.

"Yes," Sasuke replied, "Come on, let's get some bandages and stuff so it gets better quickly," he continued, while grabbing his friends other hand and leading him out the living room.

As the two walked up the stairs and headed for Sasukes bedrooms connected bathroom, Naruto couldn't help but notice how Sasuke would hold his hand very often lately. It made him very happy. Holding the ravens hand… That warm hand…  
In his happy daze, Naruto didn't even notice that Sasuke had gotten the bandages out, and was suddenly awaked from his dreaming state as Sasuke took his right hand and straightened out his finger again.

"Ow!" the blonde exclaimed as he felt pain shoot through his index finger.

"Don't worry, this is the last time I'll have to do that, okay?" Sasuke replied softly, while placing two thin, five centimetre long, flat things on the sides of his finger before starting to wrap them and the finger in bandage tightly.  
Shortly after, he was finished, and Narutos finger was stiff and big, but not hurting anymore at all. Amazed at this, Narutos big blue eyes looked up at Sasuke and gazed into his black orbs.

"Wow, it doesn't hurt at all… even the throbbing went away," he said.

"Well, then I guess I did an okay job then, huh?" Sasuke answered him. Finally, he took his eyes away from the blondes face and inspected the finger again, just to make sure it was all okay.

Still in awe, the small boy kept looking at his friend. Sasuke always made things better, didn't he? He could always, somehow, make it all better, even if it was just by smiling or just being nearby, or something like this.

Sasuke always made the world bright.

…

"Thanks,"

Sasuke looked up.

Seeing the warmth in the blondes eyes, he smiled.

"No problem,"

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Later that evening, the Uchiha family and Naruto had eaten a lovely Christmas dinner together. It had been delicious, as Sasuke had always thought. Naruto was overwhelmed by it all, the food had been amazing, and the atmosphere had been so nice. Somehow, the family of four always made him feel so welcome. And now they had all sat down in the living room, enjoying desserts and a pleasant conversation along with some piano playing. When Sasuke played, Naruto wanted to sit beside him, but didn't dare be so bold in front of his entire family. Still, he enjoyed it all very much, and was now stuffed full of both dinner and sweets. Sipping to his cocoa, he wondered if he could shove down another piece of that delicious chocolate cake, but thought it better not to. Didn't want to throw up either. Then all that wonderful food he'd eaten would just have been a waste! Couldn't have that, now could he?

After a while more, Itachi soon caught everyone's attention, hitting his glass softly, yet dramatically with his spoon.

"How about we open the pressies now, eh? That way, we'll have time to enjoy them to before the tons of food we've eaten take over and we all fall to sleep like babies," he smiled at his mother and father.

"Why not!" Mikoto said happily. She seemed to have been waiting for someone to bring it up and was now looking with big, excited eyes at the piles of gifts underneath the tree.

"Itachi, would you be so kind as to hand them out?" Fugaku asked with an unusual warmth in his voice.

'I guess even Mr. Uchiha can't help but be affected by the Christmas spirit,' Naruto thought happily to himself from his seat next to Sasuke in the couch.

"Yes, daddy dearest, as you please," Itachi sang while picking out the first present, "Ah mother, it's for you, from your friend Ran,"

"Oh how fun! I love Christmas!" she said while receiving the gift with a big smile gracing her fair features. Mikoto had always loved getting presents, and when she opened her gift, she seemed almost childlike, though still elegant and dignified.

"Ooooh, next one is for me, from Sasuke!" Itachi said as he picked out a new gift from underneath the tree. Naruto waited anxiously to see what Sasuke would buy his brother, as Itachi ripped the wrapping off in glee.

"Oh, my! Wow, this is really nice! Thank you, Sasuke!" he said while holding it up infront of him. Sasuke had gotten him an expensive looking shirt with matching tie and cufflinks. The second later, Itachi was latched upon Sasuke, hugging him like there'd be no tomorrow.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he sang happily while Sasuke himself squirmed in his iron grip.

"Yeah, yeah, glad you liked it, now get off," Sasuke groaned annoyedly.

Finally, Itachi let go of his little brother and petted his head instead for a brief moment before walking over to the tree again. As the gifts were being handed out, Naruto thought quietly to himself, enjoying the peace and fun. Even if Itachi would annoy his brother and loved ticking him off, Naruto could still tell how much he loved him. He was pretty sure Sasuke did too. This was just how they were together on the surface. But sometimes, you could tell that they really cared for each other, even if they didn't realise it showed themselves.

"Oh, here's one for Naruto!" Itachi sang even more joyfully than usual, "It's from Sasuke,"

Instantly, Naruto blushed. He hadn't really expected to get it so early, for some reason. He'd been to preoccupied with worrying about his gift for Sasuke to think much about it, but now that he saw the present, neatly wrapped in beautiful paper and with a big bow on the top, he was very excited.

"W-wow," he said quietly as all eyes landed on him, "The wrapping is so pretty, I'm almost kinda afraid to open it…"

"Don't you want to see what's inside?" Sasuke asked while turning to face him properly, to be sure he saw his expression when he laid those blue eyes on what was inside, "Go ahead, open it,"

Unseen to both Naruto and Sasuke, Mikoto and Itachi shared a quick, knowing look with each other, before looking at the two youngest again. Slightly confused by this, Fugaku decided it best to just ignore his wife and sons strange behaviour.

Slowly, Naruto opened his gift, pulling off the bows, carefully loosening the tape so he wouldn't harm the paper wrapping, and then he lifted it, to unveil the gift he had received.  
Quickly, Mikoto and Itachi exchanged huge smiles with each other before looking at the two again.

"Oh… My…" Naruto said silently. His eyes were as big as plates and his mouth hung slightly open in surprise as he realised what he'd just been given for Christmas by the one he loved.

"A… a… l-laptop?!" he exclaimed in awe.

Fugaku looked just as shocked as him, while Sasuke just smiled happily and Itachi and Mikoto shared big grins.

Naruto recognised it right away, having seen it on sale in online stores while searching for a new computer for himself to help with his homework. This had been way, way out of his price range, and he'd wanted it so badly, it was a 'top of the line' laptop.

"B-but, I thought you said it wasn't expensive? This costs a fortune, I know, I've been drooling over it for the past two months!" he said shaken up.

"I have my connections," Sasuke replied, "Don't worry, I managed to get a good price on it. After all, the owner of the firm that makes these is one of our family's clients," he added, trying to soothe the blonde next to him.

Itachi and Mikoto grinned even more of this, while Fugaku became only more confused. They all knew which client he was talking about, and for Sasuke to have gotten a good price on that laptop, couldn't have been easy with such a greedy man as that guy was.  
And if that wasn't enough, Sasuke usually didn't give a damn about most people, and if he did ever buy anyone outside family a present, it certainly wasn't something like this. He'd paid attention to what the blonde wanted, and had carefully thought through what he wanted to give him. It was like their littlest boy was a completely different guy around this Uzumaki kid, a mix between the happy child he once was, and the good, happy man they'd hoped he'd grow into.  
Happily, Itachi and Mikoto looked over at Sasuke again, whilst Fugaku sat as confused as ever beside them. Something didn't seem right; there was something he wasn't catching in this whole thing. But at the pleased looks on his wife and eldest sons faces, he figured it was something silly and mushy anyway, and wasn't sure he wanted to know at all.

"B-but, I can't keep such an extravagant gift… It's too much…" Narutos blue eyes looked at the present he'd just received with longing and sadness.

"Please, I swear, it wasn't even a third of the price you've seen it as. Is it okay then? I want you to accept it," Sasuke said tenderly. He let his hand discreetly and out of view from his family, reach out to touch the blondes tanned hand where it lay on the couch, stroking it gently.  
Blushing just a little, Naruto sighed, and then smiled. Locking his gaze with Sasukes black orbs, his grin grew wider and he finally burst forward and hugged his best friend.

"Thank you so much!" he yelled, "I can't believe you got me that, you're always so nice to me,"

Sasukes cheeks became a pale shade of pink as he felt Narutos soft cheek on his neck from the blondes warm embrace. He knew Naruto wouldn't want to accept the present right away due to how expensive it was, but he wanted to give it to him. Naruto needed it, and Sasuke wanted to do anything he could to help him out. And besides, he had money in heaps, might as well help the one he loves with some of it.

Suddenly though, the raven haired boy could feel something wet on his cheek, shortly followed by a small sniffle.

"Hey," he whispered, "You're not crying, are you?"

"…No,"

"Still a horrible liar, I see,"

"…Shut up. You're too nice,"

With a soft laugh, Sasuke patted his friends head comforting. The blonde relaxed immediately and almost felt sleepy. Sasuke had that power to make him so comfy he felt like he could just curl up and nap at any time. He gave him that sense of security he so desperately missed after his parents' deaths. And now he'd even given him a gift he was sure had to be pretty damn expensive even when bought at a third of the price.

Hell, Naruto would've been happy to just get a chocolate bar.

This was so nice of him…

Finally, he let go of Sasuke, drying his own cheeks first before wiping the little wet spot on Sasukes cheek as well, while smiling warmly.

"Thanks," he said happily.

"You're welcome," the raven haired boy replied, "But now I can't wait to see what you got me,"

Naruto instantly blushed "Oh, um, like I said, it's nothing big,"

And thus, they turned their attention to the rest of the family, happily busy with opening other presents. Itachi and Mikoto had decided it best to just keep going when the two younger boys had hugged, to let them have their privacy, and were now laughing and smiling as they opened more presents.

Not long after, when the tree was almost emptied underneath, and Narutos heart was up in his throat in anticipation, the present from Naruto to Sasuke finally got picked from the pile.

"Sasuke! This ones for you, from the kitty by your side," Itachi grinned, receiving a small laugh from Mikoto and a questioning "Huh?" from Fugaku.

Sasuke took the gift carefully and looked it over in his hands. Naruto probably did the wrapping himself, he thought, with dozens of shining bows on it. It was flat and a bit heavy. From the corner of his eye Sasuke could see Naruto squirming beside him, seemingly nervous as hell. A small smile appeared on his lips as he opened it, and inside he saw something he never could have guessed.

In his arms lay a broad frame with a picture behind the protecting glass.

'It's…'

"Oh my!" Mikoto said in delight.

"Wow, I had no idea you were this talented, Naruto," Itachi spoke in awe.

"…"

"…It-It's you, S-Sasuke…" he stuttered, "I drew it from a photo I took of you smiling. You remember, that time we went to the food festival? I… I brought my little old camera, right? And then I managed to get a photo of you smiling… I don't know what you were thinking of, but I'd just been away to use the bathroom for a minute, and when I came back, you were just looking at the sky, with such a happy smile, and I just had to take a photo of you…" Naruto said quietly while blushing furiously at all the praise he'd been given and how everyone looked at it.

"D-do you like it?"

"…"

Still staring at the drawing, Sasuke still couldn't quite believe it. It was so lovely. He couldn't believe he'd ever been this handsome, he knew how he looked, and he'd never looked this… beautiful. It was almost like it was a different person, and still, no one could deny that this was indeed him.

Slowly he regained some of his control over his mind, and looked up at Naruto in what felt like slow motion.

His deep blue eyes were filled to the brim with worry, anticipation and at the same time excitement.

"…I love it…" Sasuke finally answered.

"Really?!" Naruto asked ecstatically, his eyes immediately happy.

"Yes, it's definitely the best present I've ever gotten… It's amazing…" Sasuke let his gaze happily fall on the picture in his hands again.

'…I'm sure of it now…'

"Oh, that makes me so happy!" Naruto grinned, jumping up and down in the couch, "I was so worried you'd be disappointed, but I really wanted to give you something like this, 'cos it's because of you I'm not embarrassed to show my work to people any longer!"

"Well, it's amazing, Naruto," Mikoto said happily. From her sons expression, she couldn't help but be amused.

"Yes, I must say, it really is a great work," Fugaku said from his seat next to Mikoto. Naruto thanked both of them happily, still with a faint blush in place. To Sasuke, everything seemed so surreal, he couldn't think of anything but the picture. He studied it, not paying attention even to Itachis harassment towards Naruto as he tried to convince the poor blonde to do a nude of him.

A while after the rest of the presents were opened, Mikoto and Fugaku stood up, nodding to Itachi as well.

"Well, I'm afraid we'll be leaving you for a little while, we're going to visit grandma Uchiha at the hospital. She had her hip fixed a while ago, and the poor thing had to spend Christmas there. So we're going to bring her some good food and presents, but you two can stay here if you'd like. But if you get hungry, get your own food, since the cook has the week off for the holidays," Mikoto said in her most motherly voice as the two men in her company made their way toward the hallway.

Sasuke merely nodded, and followed them to the door to see them off, with Naruto walking behind him.

"Have fun, you two," she said warmly as they left. Naruto waved after their car as they drove off, and soon after, Sasuke closed the door while looking at the floor.

Now Naruto started to get worried; the raven haired boy had seemed so out of it ever since he'd gotten his present.

"Are you okay? Is anything wrong" he asked quietly with worried eyes.

For a moment, Sasuke had thought he may be able to control himself, but at that worried voice, he lost all restraints and pulled a surprised Naruto into his arms forcefully.

"What's the matter?" Naruto asked a minute later, when Sasuke still hadn't let go of him. He loved being in his precious ones arms, but the way he'd acted made him worried.

"That is one of the most wonderful things you could have given me," he whispered.

"One of? Is there something you want more?"

"Mhm,"

"What is it then?"

"Not telling,"

"But you still liked it, right?"

"Yeah, I love it. The other thing is something I might get too though, or at least so I hope,"

"Oh?"

"Yeah,"

Naruto felt the warmth from his friend pulling away the moment later, and Sasuke stood smiling in front of him.

"I know a third thing I'd like too, however," his black eyes suddenly changed expression.

"Oh? More?"

"Just a little thing,"

"Um, what?" the blonde asked.

Sasuke leaned a bit closer, his voice lowered to a soft whisper.

"A kiss…"

And slowly, as Narutos blush grew a shade stronger, Sasuke leaned down and in a soft kiss, their lips met.

Tenderly, the two let the feeling of the others lips linger for several seconds, both lost in the sensation of the longed for contact.

Slowly, Sasuke broke the touch, and opened his eyes to look into his friends'. The blue pools in front of him were hazed, filled with desire and longing.

"Come on," he finally spoke, "Let's go upstairs and watch some Christmas stuff on the TV and drink cocoa,"

Still a bit dazed, Naruto smiled and nodded, grabbing Sasukes hand with his as they went up the stairs.

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

"Woohoo, next is the old Disney Christmas classics!" Naruto exclaimed happily as the Gremlins movie started its credits. With the rest of the family not home yet, they'd been watching movies for the past three hours, drinking cocoa and eating snacks from their seats by the fireplace next to the TV.

"Yeah, I'll get it in the DVD-player," Sasuke said while opening the case.

"You know, Sasuke, this is the best Christmas I've had since my parents died," Naruto lay down on the blanket they were sitting on, resting his head on the pillows they were using to support their backs.

"Well, there's another great gift for me. It makes me happy to hear you say that," the raven haired boy replied while sitting down again, pushing the play button on the remote.

"Yeah, wait a minute; didn't you mumble something about something you wanted even more than the picture I gave you? What is it?" Naruto asked while sitting up next to his friend.

"Yeah, and I also told you I'm not telling what," Sasuke smirked.

"Aw, come on, I wanna know! Maybe I can get it for ya some time!"

"Well, I suppose you could, but I'm still not telling,"

"Aw, please? Come oooon, let me hear it!" Naruto whined, shaking Sasuke lightly.

"Nope," Sasuke replied dryly, still wobbling from side to side from the blondes shaking.

"Then I'll just have to beat it out of you, won't I?" Naruto grinned mischievously, before launching himself on top of Sasuke, pinning him to the floor.  
Laughing, Sasuke managed to grab his friends' arms and pull them behind the blondes back, making him unable to move.

"Ah! No, why do you always have to win at this?! I'm as strong as you are!" Naruto whined while trying to loosen his friends grip, all the while trying to not think of how delicious Sasuke looked when they play fought like this… With the gloating eyes of a predator pinning down his prey.

"Hah, you couldn't beat information out of a 10 year old even," Sasuke smirked.

"Well, if I couldn't," Naruto said, while using his feet to push Sasuke away, "Then it'd just be because I'm too nice,"

As he thought he'd managed to get Sasuke to lose his grip, he realised the raven haired boy had let go of him all on his own. As Naruto sat on his lap, he could see Sasuke slowly turn more serious, his smile still in place, but with much more intense eyes.

With a questioning look on his face, Naruto looked into Sasukes eyes, as if asking with his expression alone 'What's wrong?'

"Naruto," the raven haired boy started in a low voice.

"…Yes?"

"I give up, I'll tell you what the thing I want the most for Christmas is…"

"Okay, go ahead," Naruto quietly said. The way Sasuke was talking now… he seemed so serious.

"So, where do I start… I've know you for about four or five months now, right? And since then we've gone from hating each others guts, to understanding each other, and becoming… best friends. Right?"

Carefully, Naruto nodded, keeping his blue eyes locked with Sasukes black orbs.

"At first I thought you were the complete opposite of me… Ditsy, hyper and shallow, and I bet I seemed like an ass… Hell, I was an ass the first times we spent time together. But as I got to know you, I found out that all the things I'd arrogantly assumed about you were completely wrong. Turns out you're the most magnificent person I ever met, more wonderful than I even thought it was possible for anyone to be,"

Slowly, Sasuke let his eyes gaze into nothingness, as if daydreaming.

"…Do you know, that from I was six years old, I've always hated giggling? Girls do it all the time around me, the shallow fools they sometimes are. But you know what I recently discovered? I hadn't even noticed it happening," he paused.

"I don't hate your giggling. I actually like it. A lot,"

Naruto felt his heartbeat become quicker. Where was Sasuke going with this?

"I have so many things to thank you for; I don't even know where to begin… You've made my life so much happier. You make me happy,"

"…"

"But yeah, so… the thing I want most for Christmas, right. Almost got lost there,"

Suddenly his eyes looked deep into Narutos again, making the blonde blush at the intensity, so strong he nearly felt light headed.

Letting his hands reach up to the tanned cheeks of the one he loved, Sasuke pulled Naruto closer, until their lips were a mere inch apart.

Naruto could feel the raven haired boys' breath on his lips as Sasuke finally spoke determined, yet so softly he could barely hear it.

"I love you, Naruto, and you're what I want the most,"

Shock ran through the blondes slender body, and a second later, the gap closed, as he dove into a hungry kiss with the man he loved. Two tongues met fiercely, rolling around the other, desperately tasting, feeling, loving. As Naruto took a new breath, he spoke the words into Sasukes mouth that the raven had been longing to hear.

"I love you too, Sasuke,"

And as a single happy tear fell from the blondes eye, the two became merged again.

It was deep, with caressing tongues exploring the others mouth like never before, feeling free to let go of all worries and fears, and just feel the joy of loving someone and being loved back. Nearly desperately, they dove in again and again, cursing their need for oxygen interrupting the wonderful feeling of what had to be happiness in its most meaningful and pure form. To be able to kiss like this, like _lovers_, without the uncertainty of not being loved like they wanted to, without being sad because this amazing feeling perhaps would be the last. To kiss as lovers, certain of their eternal bond of love, is like nothing else.  
Passionately, they finally let themselves go, no restraints holding them back; they were filled with pure love and joy as both knew they had found the person they wanted to spend their lives with, and now knew they'd get to do just that.

They would always be together.

As the kiss finally ended, Naruto still sat on Sasukes lap, now with his legs behind the others back, almost embracing Sasuke with them. Both were so happy they couldn't help but just grin.

Tenderly, Naruto kissed the pale cheek of his beloved, and hugged him closely.

"I love you," he sang contently, smiling a huge grin.

Sasuke laughed softly, hugging back.

"I love you too,"

"Hey, this means I'm your precious person, doesn't it?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course. The most precious,"

Feeling better than he ever thought he could, Naruto snuggled closer to Sasuke, digging his face lightly into his ravens' neck, kissing it lightly.

"And this means I can hold your hand all the time now, right?" he asked with a muffled voice from Sasukes neck.

"Definitely," he replied, lacing his fingers on his right arm gently together with Narutos' left.

"…Don't ever let go, 'kay?" Naruto softly whispered, gently squeezing his lovers' hand.

"I wont," Sasuke replied. He hugged Naruto closer, kissing his head.

"I promise,"

**The End**

**  
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**A/N : ** Hello everyone!

First of all, I want to thank you so much, everyone who's followed my story all the way, giving the sweetest reviews and helpful critique! Thank you so so so much, I appreciate it so much.

I hope you enjoyed my story, and I hope the ending was to your liking as well. And sorry it was so late.

If any of you are sad (I usually get sad when a story ends, but hey, that could just be me) do not fret too much, 'cos I think I'll do a bonus chapter, kinda like how they make OVA eps at the ends of animes. The cosy episodes that show you how things are with everyone after the story is over. So maybe we'll get some "lose ends" tidied up there, if you know what I mean. Just light and fun, for those who'd like to read how they're doing :)

And I'd also like to thank my dear beta'er Myst-chan :D -glomps- :)

Oh, and at the 12'th chappie, I reached 101 reviews total, and that made me very happy :D Thanks again, you guys are great, I lurv ya all :D

Anyway, if it interests you, I have a new idea for a story, which may be written some time in the future, so don't forget me too quick, 'kay? But I also have an original story going now, so it might take some time. We'll just have to see, I guess :)

Huh. Guess this is it then. Wow, I'm getting all emo now, I really enjoyed working on this story, so it's a bit sad for me that its over now :'( -sniffle- But it's been so much fun, and a great learning experience! So all good memories :D

Thank you all again, I appreciate your support and the fact that you read this :) makes me very happy. Thank you!

So, until next time, as always of course, lots and lots and lots and loooootssssss of love from P.Peachy:D


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